a defeat against holders Newcastle United. Domestically, Porto finished the league in an all-time low ninth place, thus failing to qualify for European competition in the 1970–71 season. They returned the following season to participate in the inaugural edition of the UEFA Cup, which officially replaced the Fairs Cup, but their debut against Nantes led to another premature exit. Porto returned to this tournament in four of the following five seasons, the exception being 1973–74, when it failed qualification for European competitions. In the first of those seasons (1972–73), Porto reached the third round of a European competition for the first time, but were eliminated by Dynamo Dresden. They beat Barcelona in the first round, in what was the teams' first European encounter and the only time Porto eliminated the Spanish side from European competitions. In the 1975–76 UEFA Cup, Porto were again eliminated in the third round, but in the process they beat Luxembourg's Avenir Beggen with a club record home (7–0) and aggregate (10–0) win scores. In the first round of the following season's UEFA Cup, Porto were matched with Schalke 04. After a tie in the first leg, Porto squandered a 2–0 lead in the second leg, conceding three goals in the last 15 minutes, which resulted in their elimination. First final – Pedroto years (1977–84) Head coach José Maria Pedroto oversaw Porto's victory over Braga in the 1977 Portuguese Cup final, which ensured the club's participation in the 1977–78 Cup Winners' Cup. After overcoming Köln in the first round, Porto met Manchester United for the first time in international club competition. Reactions to the second round draw predicted an easy task for the English team, but Porto stunned its visitors and Europe with a 4–0 win. In Old Trafford, Manchester United pressed hard and even benefited from two own goals, but their 5–2 win was insufficient to prevent a shocking elimination at the hands of Porto. Playing in a quarter-final round for the first time, they were defeated by the eventual competition winners, Anderlecht. Porto finished the season at the top of the Primeira Liga, ending a 19-year drought of league titles. In their return to the European Cup, they were eliminated in the first round after suffering their heaviest defeat in European competitions: 6–1 against AEK Athens. Porto secured back-to-back league titles to participate in the 1979–80 European Cup. They eliminated Milan in the first