Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League as FC Porto scored in the final minute at Old Trafford to draw 1-1 and win through 3-2 on aggregate.
United lost the first leg 2-1 in Portugal and had to do without the injured Mikael Silvestre for the first knockout stage second leg, while skipper Roy Keane was suspended.
The early play was scrappy, with neither keeper troubled in the opening 15 minutes.
After 20 minutes Vitor Baia was out smartly to gather a Ryan Giggs cross and he did even better to deny Ruud van Nistelrooy four minutes later.
Just after the half-hour United hit the front as John O'Shea got clear on the left flank and his near-post cross was headed home by the unmarked Paul Scholes.
Seven minutes before the break Carlos Alberto forced Tim Howard into a solid save at his near post, with Maniche blasting the rebound over from 15 yards.
Scholes then had a second goal chalked out for offside as the first half ended with United on top.
Louis Saha entered the fray at half-time, but Wes Brown had to block a Maniche shot soon after to preserve the lead.
Porto then enjoyed a period of possession, without troubling Howard in the home goal.
Midway through the second half van Nistelrooy had a shot blocked, before Dmitri Alenitchev dipped a shot just over from 20 yards.
The closing stages saw Porto push on looking for a crucial goal, but United seemed to have held firm to seal a place in the last eight of the competition before the visitors struck right at the death.
Howard could only palm out Benni McCarthy's 25-yard free-kick and Costinha followed in to net the rebound from close range and silence Old Trafford.
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored twice as Manchester United edged Fulham 2-1 to reach the English FA Cup semi-finals yesterday.
Van Nistelrooy scored once in either half to keep United on track for their 11th FA Cup title and their first since 1999.
Fulham took the lead with a 23rd minute penalty, awarded when Luis Boa Morte was tackled by United defender Wes Brown.
Steed Malbranque converted, firing the ball into the top inside of the net as United's goalkeeper Tim Howard leapt the other way.
United levelled two minutes later with Van Nistelrooy's 25th goal of the season. The Dutchman volleyed the ball into the net from a Ryan Giggs cross.
Van Nistelrooy scored past his international teammate Edwin Van Der Sar again in the 62nd minute. Cristiano Ronaldo ran down the right and crossed for an advancing Van Nistelrooy to chip home.
“He could have scored a lot of goals today, our attacking display was great,'' United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “He could have scored four and that's what you expect of Ruud.''
United fielded a new look defence. With Gary Neville suspended and Quinton Fortune injured, captain Roy Keane was named at the back.
Howard, Giggs and Van Nistelrooy returned to the team after being rested for the 1-1 league draw at Fulham last weekend. Fulham defeated United 3-1 at Old Trafford in the league last October.
“Sometimes managers and players disagree about needing a rest because I always want to play,'' Van Nistelrooy said. “Deep down I probably agree with him (Ferguson) but it's not nice to be rested.''
Fulham manager Chris Coleman was forced to watch the match from his hospital bed where he is recovering from a viral infection.
“We gave it everything,'' Fulham assistant manager Steve Kean said. “Our attitude was spot-on, we tried to attack and on another day we might have got a draw, but I'm satisfied with the performance.''
Louis Saha scored against his old club but Manchester United dropped two potentially crucial points and fell further behind in the title race after Fulham held the champions to a 1-1 draw.
Saha silenced the boo boys targeting him over his controversial move to Old Trafford when he latched on to Cristiano Ronaldo's through ball and smashed a powerful shot high into the net.
Fulham however never gave up and, exploiting United's makeshift defence, equalised in the second half when Luis Boa Morte rounded Wes Brown and placed a low drive past United's number two keeper Roy Carroll.
With Arsenal winning at Charlton, United, now placed third, dropped to nine points behind with 11 matches left to play.
United's desperation was evident in their passionate appeals for a penalty for a foul on Saha which were waved away, even though it appeared Fulham keeper Edwin Van der Sar had tripped the striker.
Darren Fletcher, Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan and Carroll were drafted in to rest tired legs after the midweek Champions League defeat to FC Porto, as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs and Tim Howard were demoted to the bench.
Forlan's partnership with Saha almost produced a quickfire goal, but the Frenchman blasted wide after 10 seconds.
United made their superiority pay when Carroll threw the ball out to Ronaldo, whose incisive pass picked out Saha. Two touches and the Frenchman smashed a powerful shot that flew past his former teammate Van der Sar.
Fulham slowly got into contention, demonstrated when Sylvain Legwinski shaved the United crossbar.
Ronaldo was full of tricks at the start of the second half and he was unfortunate not to score when his shot went narrowly wide.
Forlan could also have secured the three points United desperately needed but he headed straight at Van der Sar after Ronaldo's pinpoint cross.
After 64 minutes, Boa Morte made United suffer when he combined well with US striker Brian McBride to equalise.
Brown was left for dead by the Portuguese striker's speed but Carroll will have been disappointed with the way he dealt with the shot.
Saha did appear to have been felled by Van der Sar after being released by Forlan, but referee Alan Whiley ignored their pleas and even booked Van Nistelrooy for protesting from the sidelines.
When Van Nistelrooy and Giggs came into the game with 15 minutes left they were unable to change its course as the Red Devils looked impotent for the second time in a week.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has admitted Manchester United's faltering English Premiership challenge is partly down to David Beckham's transfer to Real Madrid.
United dropped seven points behind Arsenal following a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Leeds on Saturday.
And the Dutch striker said that Beckham's influence in midfield has been missed.
"Becks is a missed here at United as a player as well as a person," he said.
"From what I've seen of him in Spain, he's doing really well.
"With the language barrier, it's not easy for a player to make a move like that. But Becks has put in some great performances for Real."
Van Nistelrooy has continued to find the net regularly for Manchester United, scoring 18 goals, one fewer than Arsenal's Thierry Henry.
But the Old Trafford club face a minor injury crisis ahead of their Champions League game at Porto, with the news that Mikael Silvestre will miss the next three weeks with ankle ligament damage.
United are already without Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville through suspension and Wes Brown is short of match fitness.
RUUD VAN Nistelrooy has insisted: "I'm not a natural-born finisher."
The Manchester United ace is regarded as one of the world's best strikers, but he says he is not blessed with a God-given talent to score goals and puts his success down to nothing but hard work on the training ground.
He said: "I am not the kind of player who can just turn up and be brilliant. I have to work very, very hard to do well.
"Some players are just naturally brilliant but I'm not such an amazing player that I can sit back and play well with no effort."
Van Nistelrooy, 27, is desperate to test himself on the international stage after missing Euro 2000 through injury and Holland failing to qualify for the World Cup two years ago.
He added: "It will be great to play on that stage. It is the first time for me and I will enjoy every minute.
"With United I have played at the highest level and showed that I can do it. But for Holland I need to prove myself."
Van Nistelrooy is certain his Dutch team-mate Arjen Robben will be arriving from PSV this summer - and that he will be a big success.
He added: "I think Robben can play in the Premiership. He is only 19 but he is very talented. Maybe it didn't happen this season, but I think it will be next season."
PORTO SEND UNITED PACKING
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