Never had so much pressurised attention been placed upon a match in the wake of the tragic murders of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight on the eve of the first leg in Istanbul two weeks ago.

But the bitter acrimony and the needless wrangling between the two clubs, added to which was the senseless hype which had overshadowed the fact there was a football match taking place, was shattered within an instant.

Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale had appealed for calm by taking out full page adverts in the majority of today's national papers under the banner headline 'Tonight must be all about football'.

While there were a number of minor incidents which took place outside Elland Road to perhaps warrant scrutiny, Ridsdale's plea was clearly not heeded on the pitch.

The volatile mixture of revenge, discord and fervent emotion took a grip on the players, and on inexperienced referee Lubos Michel, whose temperament was suspect on such a heady night.

His 43rd-minute dismissal of Leeds golden boy Harry Kewell did little to ease the raw-edged drama of the occasion, which was quickly succeeded by a red card for Emre Belozoglu.

Then minutes from the end Hakan Sukur was felled by a missile from the crowd - Michel handing the object to the fourth official - which means UEFA could launch an inquiry.

Leeds will certainly face another fine by European soccer's governing body as they also had three players booked to add to Kewell's red card.

UEFA fined Leeds after the first leg as they had four booked failure to control their players was the charge - but the fact Hakan was struck means they could severely punish United at the next disciplinary hearing.

Before kick-off the Leeds fans had been whipped into a frenzy by their anthem 'Marching On Together' which boomed out across the tannoy, with the words never having been sung with such passion.

The cacophony must have reverberated through to the dressing room, with manager David O'Leary clearly needing no team talk as the Leeds supporters did that for him, all united in heart and spirit.

O'Leary's greatest fear, however, was being unable to contain the emotion of his team as the adrenaline would undoubtedly have been pumping as they listened with pride, wanting victory more than anything in their careers to date.

After a minute's silence, sadly blemished by the inexperience of Slovakian Michel who failed to blow his whistle to signal the start, and by a number of supporters who jeered and whistled early on, the game's opening called for cool heads.

But the heat of such a volatile situation proved too much for Leeds, as their bull in a china shop attitude left their hopes of reaching the UEFA Cup final shattered into a million tiny pieces.

Had Michael Bridges beaten Claudio Taffarel in the fourth minute then maybe a different script might have been written, but it was the first of a string of outstanding saves from the World Cup-winning goalkeeper which broke United hearts.

Within seconds the roar which had greeted Leeds when they took to the pitch was suddenly left choking in the throats of the United supporters when Jonathan Woodgate's temperament got the better of him.

His rash challenge on Hakan in the fifth minute not only led to the penalty which saw silence descend across Elland Road, but also quite remarkably his first booking of the season.

Romanian international Gheorghe Hagi then added to the looks of disbelief by stroking home the spot kick, despite the valiant attempt of Nigel Martyn, who was a whisker away from pushing the ball round the post.

Leeds' response was admirable in the face of a mountainous task which had assumed Everest-like proportions, and their reward was Eirik Bakke's 16th-minute equaliser.

Kewell had already forced another fine save from Taffarel by that stage, while the gaps in United's defence were alarming as they committed men forward to a cause now beyond them.

At least Norwegian international Bakke provided a glimmer of hope with his powerful header from a Jason Wilcox corner, though there the rejuvenation ended.

Taffarel's heroics then stretched to stops from Kewell again, and a contender for save of the season as Ian Harte looked set to wheel away in celebration as he headed on another centre from Wilcox, but Taffarel's experience came to the fore.

It was the platform on which Galatasaray were able to build for their second goal as a mistake on the edge of the Turkish box allowed Hagi to break.

His ball found Hakan wide left, and while there appeared no danger, the striker first cut inside Danny Mills - starting his only his third game in the last five months - and then Woodgate before a precision finish to cap a supreme goal.

Then just before the break, the game descended into anarchy as Michel, a schoolteacher by profession, lost control of the game as the atmosphere turned even uglier.

Kewell was sent off for an alleged stamp, but barely touched Gheorghe Popescu, while Belozoglu only clipped Lee Bowyer as both sides were quickly reduced to 10 men.

An apparent fracas in the tunnel as the players then left for the break prompted Michel to order extra police security during the interval to protect all concerned at the end of the game.

The pace of the second half remained relentless, although mercifully the undercurrent of hostility abated slightly as Leeds at least avoided a place in the record books.

United had never lost seven successive matches in their history, and such a statistic was avoided as Wilcox and Bakke resumed their double act - a header from a corner - in the 68th minute.

But it was not enough as Leeds failed to set up a dream final with Arsenal in Copenhagen on May 17, with Galatasaray becoming the first Turkish club to reach such a European stage.

When the final whistle sounded it was to a mixture of relief and disappointment - but you can be sure we've not heard the last of this tie.

Leeds: Martyn, Mills, Radebe, Woodgate, Harte (Huckerby 46), Bowyer, Bakke, McPhail, Wilcox, Bridges, Kewell.

Subs Not Used: Haaland, Hopkin, Smith, Jones, Duberry, Robinson.

Sent Off: Kewell (43).

Booked: Woodgate, Harte, Wilcox.

Goals: Bakke 16, 68.

Galatasaray: Taffarel, Capone, Popescu, Bulent, Hagi, Okan (Hasan 87), K. Suat (Ahmet 81), Emre, Penbe, Erdem (Hakan 46), Sukur.

Subs Not Used: Akyel, Davala, Inan, Marcio Santos.

Sent Off: Emre (45).

Booked: Taffarel, K. Suat.

Goals: Hagi 5 pen, Sukur 42.

Att: 38,406

Ref: Lubos Michel (Slovakia).