SO now the Dragon awaits, mouth open, ready to burn United’s Champions League hopes to a crisp.
Porto’s Estadio do Dragao takes no prisoners. No English team has ever won there and that is what United will probably have to do to make the Champions League semi-finals.
A high-scoring draw could be enough too, but United are up against it and the chances of landing the unprecedented quintuple are in jeopardy.
United were lucky they ended the night on level terms even though it was Porto who forced a last-minute equaliser through Mariano when sub Carlos Tevez looked to have nicked it.
United were dreadful and the renewed optimism from Sunday’s sensational turnaround against Aston Villa has swiftly been extinguished.
This was sloppier than United’s 4-1 defeat at home to Liverpool. It was a nervy, error-strewn performance and while Alex Ferguson came over relatively calm after the game, he must have been raging inside.
This was a dozen hair-dryers worth on the blastometer.
Five years ago Porto knocked United out of this competition at the last-16 stage and their boss Jose Mourinho celebrated with a famous slide down the touchline.
That team went on to win the trophy but, according to the bookies, this Porto were nothing like as good as their predecessors. They were rated the weakest of the quarter-finalists.
Arsenal fans who saw the inconsistent Gunners rip Porto to bits by 4-0 at the Emirates in the group stages will not believe this score.
But from the moment Lisandro put the wind up United when he turned Jonny Evans and whipped in a swerving shot which Edwin van der Sar clawed over the bar, it was clear this would not be straightforward.
Evans did not recover from that early mugging and he was culpable, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, for Porto’s shock fourth-minute opener.
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Ronaldo made exactly the same mistake as he did on Sunday for Villa’s second, casually giving away the ball and not bothering to track back.
Lucho’s cross only found Evans but the centre-back made a total hash of his clearance straight to Cristian Rodriguez, who cut across the defender and smacked a cracking shot into the bottom corner.
United were seriously wobbling but, after Helton saved Ronaldo’s header, there came a huge stroke of luck.
Bruno Alves did not look as he turned round to pass back to his keeper and Wayne Rooney showed great anticipation to pop up and clip the ball home on 15 minutes.
Alves was distraught and needed consoling by his team-mates. All the visitors’ great work had been undone by a schoolboy error.
But they kept their chins up and Rodriguez should have scored again, heading straight at Van der Sar from close range, before Lisandro got behind John O’Shea and just failed to get his foot on a cross.
What was going on?
Rooney and Ronaldo were going absolutely mental because the back four were all over the shop and the midfield were not tracking back.
Mind you, Ronaldo could talk. Evans looked edgy every time the ball came anywhere near him and the crowd were on his back.
And when O’Shea lost the ball, allowing Porto to break away with their impressive striker Hulk shooting narrowly wide, the boos cascaded down from the stands.
Porto ought to have been comfortably ahead.
United needed a two-goal lead to give themselves something to play with but the errors continued with O’Shea mis- controlling and Evans giving the ball away down the touchline to more groans.
On came Ryan Giggs for Park Ji Sung, Ronaldo moved into a more central role and almost immediately United looked more dangerous.
Rooney’s outrageous effort from wide out right was tipped over by Helton and from the corner, Helton was there again to keep out Nemanja Vidic’s header.
But the goal would not come and Porto still looked dangerous, with Van der Sar scrambling a deflected shot round the post.
The Dutch keeper hardly had time to draw breath when Aly Cissokho tried a speculative 25-yard drive which was sneaking in until Van der Sar got across.
Tevez replaced Scholes and the experienced Gary Neville put the injured Evans out of his misery.
And, after Tevez survived a penalty shout when the ref gave him the benefit of the doubt for a tackle on Hulk in his own area, the Argie scored five minutes from time.
Neville’s throw was brilliantly flicked on by Rooney and Tevez pounced at the near post.
We thought United had got out of jail.
But Porto were rewarded for their efforts as Rodriguez’s cross brushed the head of O’Shea and fell nicely for sub Mariano, who tucked it away at the far post.
