2 UEFA invited Manchester United to enter the competition after eight of the club 's players were killed in the Munich air disaster while returning from a European Cup match in Belgrade the previous season ; however , the Football League refused to allow the club to compete . As the draw had already been made for the preliminary round , Manchester United 's drawn opponents , Young Boys , were given a bye to the first round of the competition . Instead , the two clubs played a pair of friendlies against each other , home and away ; Young Boys won the first match 2 – 0 in Bern , but Manchester United won at Old Trafford a week later . The two clubs were again drawn together in the group stage of the 2018 – 19 UEFA Champions League , almost exactly 60 years after they were originally due to play
Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
1958–59 European Cup