60 Years Since Old Trafford's European Bow

Sixty years ago today, Old Trafford staged its first ever European match as Manchester United hosted Real Madrid in front of a fascinated, fervent and predominantly local crowd.

The Theatre of Dreams has since become synonymous with Europe, having staged more than 150 Manchester United matches in three different continental competitions and also a final in which the Reds didn't play - the Champions League showpiece between AC Milan and Juventus in 2003. But the rise in the stadium's stature beyond the shores of England effectively began on that historic night of Wednesday 25 April 1957.

By then, United had already won three 'home' matches in the earlier rounds of the 1956/57 European Cup campaign - against Anderlecht (a club record 10-0), Borussia Dortmund (3-2) and Athletic Bilbao (3-0) - but as Old Trafford was still without floodlights and therefore incapable of hosting evening games, these fixtures were all played at Manchester City's Maine Road ground.

When the semi-finals arrived in April, the Reds' own venue was ready to stage the second leg against the mighty Real Madrid; 65,000 supporters turned up to see if Matt Busby's men could overcome the 3-1 first-leg deficit inflicted by the mercurial likes of Alfredo di Stefano and Francisco Gento at the Bernabeu.

For hours before kick-off, the stadium rumbled with intent. "If noise could have served their purpose, United would have won hands down," reported The Guardian.

Unfortunately, two wonderful team goals for the Spanish conquistadors, finished off by Raymond Kopa and Enrique Mateos, rendered the tie all but over after little more than half an hour. However, United bounced back after the break, roared on by the home support.

"The crowd created a surge of desire to show Real that we could play at their level," said Bobby Charlton, who followed up Tommy Taylor’s goal to make it 2-2 on the night in the 85th minute. The Reds continued to believe but ultimately tumbled out 5-3 on aggregate.

This first taste of European football at Old Trafford yielded mixed emotions - disappointment as a first-leg deficit proved insurmountable but excitement at entering a brave new world. In the following season, 1957/58, the visitors came from Ireland (Shamrock Rovers), Czechoslovakia (Dukla Prague), Italy (AC Milan) and fatefully Yugoslavia (Red Star Belgrade), from where some of Busby's players never arrived home after the second leg.

UNITED'S RECORD IN EUROPEAN MATCHES AT OLD TRAFFORD
European Cup / Champions League
Played 126; Won 91, Drawn 25, Lost 10; Goals For 290, Against 103

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup / UEFA Cup / Europa League
Played 25; Won 15, Drawn 8, Lost 2; Goals For 51, Against 18

European Super Cup
Played 1; Won 1, Drawn 0, Lost 0; Goals For 1, Against 0

Totals of all European competitions
Played 152; Won 107, Drawn 33, Lost 12; Goals For 342, Against 121