It was a nervy night at Old Trafford as United lost 2-1 to Dutch side Ajax to limp home on aggregate 3-2.
The game started brightly for the Reds, with the tie looking dead and buried after just 5 minutes, as Javier Hernandez latched onto a fantastic through ball from Dimitar Berbatov, and the deadly finisher slotted home to make it 3-0 on aggregate, and seemingly sending United through.
However, the side from Amsterdam dominated the rest of the first half, and finally got the goal they deserved just before the break, when a weak clearance from Phil Jones fell to Aras Ozbiliz, who levelled from 20 yards to give the visitors hope.
The Reds struggled for any momentum in the second half and Ajax continued to bombard David De Gea's goal. The Spaniard was forced to make another stunning stop, one of many in recent weeks, as he saved from point-blank range from a free header by Siem De Jong, after more sloppy United defending. Ajax then set up a grand finale, after a hopeful free kick was nodded in by Alderweireld with 3 minutes of normal time to play, but it arrived too late, and United held on to scrape through to the next round, despite the very disappointing performance.
Fergie and his players will now concentrate on Sunday's game at Norwich, but also the prospect of Athletic Blibao in the next round of the Europa League. There are also concerns over the fitness of Tom Cleverley, who underwent a scan after a knock he picked up during Thursday's defeat which may see him miss out on an England debut next week.
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