They were, however, knocked out of the League Cup at the Fifth Round stage for the second successive season after losing 2–1 to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on 30 November 2011.

[4] The club also granted a testimonial to Harry Gregg, a survivor of the 1958 Munich air disaster, who rescued a 20-month-old girl, her pregnant mother and attempted to revive United manager Sir Matt Busby.

As Premier League champions, United began the season against the holders of the FA Cup, local rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield.

United had most of the possession and more shots on goal in the first half, but it was City who took the lead in the 38th minute when Joleon Lescott nodded in a David Silva free-kick.

With a penalty shoot-out looming as the game moved into injury time, Nani forced a mistake from City captain Vincent Kompany, outpaced the defence and rounded goalkeeper Joe Hart before sliding the ball into the empty net to seal United's comeback and their 19th FA Community Shield.

The match saw the dramatic return of Manchester United legend Paul Scholes from his retirement after last season's Champions League Final against Barcelona.

However, 10-man Manchester City bounced back immediately after the break with a free kick from Aleksandar Kolarov followed by a close-range goal from Sergio Agüero.

The draw for the Fourth Round took place on 8 January 2012, and gave United a tie against their other strong rivals Liverpool for the second successive season in the FA Cup.

Daniel Agger's header put Liverpool in front, and Park Ji-sung equalised seven minutes before the break, but Dirk Kuyt's late winner ended United's hopes of winning the famous trophy.

As one of eight English clubs who qualified for European competition in the 2010–11 season, United received a bye to the Third Round of the League Cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson handed a start to debutant Zeki Fryers, 18 years old, and twice early on, Dimitar Berbatov had to clear off the line.

But that was the closest the hosts came to causing an upset, as Michael Owen opened the scoring on 15 minutes with a scuffed shot and lashed home a second on 32.

Ryan Giggs all but sealed the victory when he played a short corner to Park Ji-sung, got the return ball, nutmegged Robert Snodgrass, and shot past Andrew Lonergan via a deflection off Luciano Becchio.

The draw for the Fourth Round took place on 24 September 2011, and gave United a trip to the EBB Stadium to take on League Two side Aldershot Town.

Despite increasing Manchester United pressure, the match went to extra-time, where Crystal Palace scored a second, with a Glenn Murray header, to put them 2–1 ahead in the 98th minute.

Nicolás Gaitán's delightful long pass picked out Óscar Cardozo in the 24th minute, and he controlled on his chest then finished from 16 yards.

[14] However, an unlikely 2–1 away defeat against Basel meant that United failed to progress past the group stage of the Champions League for only the third time in 17 years.

It was a cool evening and at times it rained after referee Björn Kuipers of the Royal Dutch Football Association blew his whistle for the kick-off.

Keeper David de Gea could not clear the ball far enough and Basel's captain Marco Streller slammed a fierce shot home to put the hosts a goal ahead after nine minutes.

Although Phil Jones headed the ball home after Macheda's shot had rebounded off the cross-bar, Basel survived a tense final two minutes to advance to the knock-out phase with the 2–1 win.

"andersred"), United's failure to progress beyond the group stage of the Champions League could cost them up to £20 million, mostly in lost TV revenue.

As one of the top four of the eight third-placed Champions League teams, United were seeded for the Round of 32 draw which took place at 12:00 GMT on 16 December 2011.

Matt Busby's babes lost 5–3 in Spain, before winning 3–0 at Maine Road – Old Trafford was not equipped with floodlights at that time – to progress 6–5 on aggregate.

Wayne Rooney smashed United ahead from close range, before Fernando Llorente's header drew the visitors level.

The hosts were stunned by two controversial second-half goals from Óscar de Marcos – who appeared to be offside from Ander Herrera's lofted pass – and Iker Muniain – whose goal resulted from a free-kick awarded after Patrice Evra kicked the ball with only one boot on – before a late consolation by Rooney from the penalty spot softened the blow as United succumbed to their fifth home defeat of the season.

Manchester United's first two departures of the 2011–12 off-season were Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and English midfielder Paul Scholes, who both retired shortly after the end of the 2010–11 season.

The final departure of the summer was French forward Gabriel Obertan, who signed a five-year contract with Newcastle United after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

But with the departure of Van der Sar, the club needed a long-term replacement for him in goal, and a deal was done to sign young Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea from Atlético Madrid.

A week later, after spending the first half of the season on loan to Barnsley, Danny Drinkwater was bought by Leicester City also for an undisclosed fee.

The last two players to leave were Mame Biram Diouf, who joined Hannover 96 on 28 January, and Ravel Morrison, who made a deadline day move to West Ham United.