MX23RW : Monday, December 23 20:01:16| >> :60:2039:2039:

On this day: Jose Mourinho sprints down Old Trafford touchline

Eleven years ago today, Jose Mourinho celebrated Porto knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League by sprinting down the Old Trafford touchline.

Today, Jose Mourinho is rarely out of the headlines. As far as managers go, the Chelsea boss is a blockbuster name.

Yet, during most of his stint in charge of Porto, he was by no means a renowned figure, particularly outside of his native Portugal.

However, all of that changed 11 years ago today when a 41-year-old Mourinho took his side to face Manchester United at Old Trafford in the last 16 of the Champions League.

The visitors held the advantage thanks to Benni McCarthy, who bagged a brace of goals in the opening leg at the Estadio do Dragao to cancel out an early opener from United midfielder Quinton Fortune.

Paul Scholes, though, put United back in command on the away goals rule in the 31st minute of the return meeting when he headed in John O'Shea's cross at the near post.

The midfielder also had the ball in the net again moments before the break, but he was incorrectly ruled to have been offside by the referee's assistant.

It would prove to be a crucial decision, as Mourinho and his Porto players sent shockwaves reverberating around Old Trafford in the final minute.

Phil Neville fouled Edgaras Jankauskas close to the penalty area and from the resultant set-piece situation, McCarthy fired goalwards. United goalkeeper Tim Howard failed to hold the ball and the American's mistake was punished as Costinha fired in the rebound to send the away side through to the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

As the Porto players ran off to celebrate in front of their travelling supporters by the corner flag, they were joined by their manager, who had sprinted down the touchline to get involved.

It was a moment that propelled Mourinho into the limelight and he went on the guide his unfancied team to Champions League glory that year, before being appointed the manager of Chelsea as a result of his achievements.

MAN UNITED: Howard; P Neville, Brown, O'Shea, G Neville; Fletcher, Djemba-Djemba, Butt, Giggs, Scholes; Van Nistelrooy

PORTO: Baia; Ferreira, Costa, Carvalho, Valente; Alenitchev, Costinha, Maniche, Deco; Alberto, McCarthy


2004 (March 9) Manchester United (England) 1...

ID:210167: cacheID:210167:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4532:
Written by
Liam Apicella
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho on the touchline against Basel during the Champions League group match on September 18, 2013
Read Next:
Mourinho's top five matches vs. Man United
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!