MANCHESTER UNITED snatched an extraordinary win at Juventus in the Champions League despite Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a stunning volley. See how the action unfolded with Express Sport.
Cristiano Ronaldo looked to have haunted the club which turned him into a global superstar when he volleyed in the opening goal in the 65th minute after Juventus had dominated proceedings and struck the woodwork twice.
Jose Mourinho’s side had looked utterly toothless in attack but after the Portuguese threw on Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Marcus Rashford late in the game they staged the most unlikely of comebacks, recalling their epic 3-2 win from two goals down in Turin in the 1999 semi-finals.
Their stunning revival prevented Juventus from sealing their place in the last 16 and turned Group H on its head.
Juve still lead with nine points but United are second on seven, crucially two ahead of Valencia in third place, while Young Boys are bottom of the group and out of the competition.
Juventus XI: Szczesny, De Sciglio, Chiellini, Sandro, Bonucci, Pjanic, Khedira, Dybala, Cuadrado, Bentancur, Ronaldo.
Manchester United XI: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Lingard, Sanchez, Martial.
FT: Juventus 1-2 Manchester United
🖤 65' Ronaldo
❤️ 86' Mata
❤️ 89' Silva OGEnjoy that result, Jose? 👂🤣 pic.twitter.com/wtlB4SrhAD
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2018
Jose delighted
21:55: Jose just can’t help himself when the final whistle is blown. He cups his ear and makes a rather hilarious face to the crowd, who have given him grief all night.
Leonardo Bonucci didn’t enjoy the goading too much. He rushed over to have a word with the Portuguese tactician – who didn’t give a monkeys!
JUVENTUS 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED
FT: Don’t ask me how, don’t ask me why – but Manchester United have produced a miraculous comeback against one of the meanest defences in Europe to beat Juventus.
94: Huge save from Szczesny! Rashford is sent free and only has the former Arsenal goalkeeper to beat, but an outstretched leg denies the substitute.
92: Juventus throwing the kitchen sink now as Paulo Dybala goes to ground inside the penalty area. Looked like a dive to me and he’s already on a yellow card. Lucky escape.
90: Four minutes of injury time to come. How are those nerves?
JUVENTUS 1-2 MANCHESTER UNITED | SANDRO OG
88: Can United summon spirit of ’99? Yes they most certainly can!
What a turnaround! A free-kick from deep evades everyone until a mix-up at the back post sees it bounce over the line for an own goal.
I think Alex Sandro got the unfortunate final touch. Scenes. Just scenes in Turin.
JUVENTUS 1-1 MANCHESTER UNITED | MATA
87: Juuuuuuuaaaaaaannnnnnn Maaaaataaaaa! Manchester United have equalised with a brilliant free-kick from substitute Juan Mata!
It’s a thing of absolute beauty from just outside the penalty area, and the Spaniard delicately curls it over the wall and into the top left-hand corner.
85: Ey up! Szczesny makes his first proper save of the night when Anthony Martial waltzes into the penalty area and looks to bet him at his near post. Saved.
83: Marcus Rashford collects the knock-down from Fellaini and forces a reasonably good save from Szczesny. De Sciglio is replaced by Barzagli – meaning Juventus will finish the game with three at the back.
80: Double change for Manchester United, and I suspect Jose Mourinho wants to go aerial. Juan Mata replaces Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini comes on for Alexis Sanchez.
77: Double booking, you don’t see many of those these days. Herrera and Dybala are simultaneously wrestling and running and both receive bookings for their troubles.
Seconds later, Pjanic lines up an absolute missile from distance that leaves De Gea flat-footed as it whistles over the crossbar.
74: That, my friends, should have been the three points wrapped up. Cristiano Ronaldo breaks clear from midfield and tees up Juan Cuadrado, who somehow blazes over from eight-yards away.
71: Cristiano Ronaldo has ended a drought of 20 shots and 453 minutes without a goal in the UEFA Champions League, with his opener against Manchester United.
And yes, he celebrated. That might annoy some Manchester United fans, but if you scored a goal like that in the Champions League you’d do the same.
70: Cometh the 70-minute mark, cometh Marcus Rashford. Saturday’s hero comes on to replace Jesse Lingard for the final 20 minutes. Can United pull it out the fire?
68: Save! Juventus look for a quick second but David de Gea denies Pjanic from point-blank range.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores first Champions League goal for Juventus! ⚫️⚪️
And what a way to do it! 😳🙌
UNREAL! 👏 pic.twitter.com/6G9siDmXZp
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 7, 2018
JUVENTUS 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED | RONALDO
65: What!? Just… what?! Cristiano Ronaldo has opened the scoring with an absolutely magnificent volley.
I don’t know why we’re still surprised when the 33-year-old Portuguese does something like that – he’s always been capable of ridiculous moments of magic.
Bonucci plays a ball over the top from near the halfway line, and Ronaldo peels off his marker and smashes it beyond David de Gea on the volley.
63: Sami Khedira off, Blaise Matuidi on. Talk about strength in depth.
60: Niiiice from Manchester United. Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez and finally Luke Shaw combine to win a corner for the visitors on the hour-mark.
It’s swung in… and out the other side for a goalkick. Awful from Alexis.
57: Pure frustration watching this match. There’s so much talent on the field that’s being strangled and suffocated. We’ve barely seen a good passing move or powerful run from anyone on the pitch. It’s a bore, unfortunately.
54: “I think Paul Pogba has been the worst player on the pitch. He’s been really poor,” says Jamie Carragher on Danish television.
51: Woodwork! Paulo Dybala is afforded all the time and space in the world inside the box. He does;t need a second invitation to let fly with a curler that skims off the crossbar.
48: Victor Lindelof is lucky to get away with giving the ball to Paulo Dybala just outside the penalty area. Anthony Martial then marches down the other end and unleashes a signature curling effort that flies past the post.
JUVENTUS 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
45: And we’re back underway in Turin. No changes at the break as Cristiano Ronaldo squeezes the ball to check if It’s acceptable… it is. Thankfully.
Raheem Sterling…
HT: You’ve seen it right? Yes, I’m talking about Manchester City being awarded a penalty when Raheem Sterling stubbed his toe against the floor when lining up a shot.
The amount of reaction to this incident will be mind-boggling. Have a watch above.
Latest Champions League scores
HT: Bayern 1-0 AEK Athens, Benfica 1-0 Ajax, Lyon 2-0 Hoffenheim, Manchester City 2-0 Shakhtar, Plzen 0-4 Real Madrid
JUVENTUS 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
HT: Fin qui tutto bene per Jose Mourinho e Manchester United. That, of course, means: So far so good for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United in Italian. That D in GCSE Italian came in handy…
The visitors have been under the cosh at times but are showing grit, organisation and determination in the opening 45 minutes. Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo quiet thus far.
44: Nobody took the gamble for Juventus after Cristiano Ronaldo waltzed beyond Luke Shaw and sent a teasing ball through the six-yard box. Faintest of touches would have opened the scoring.
Shaw then fouls the former Manchester United man and the visitors just about hack it behind for a corner. Jose Mourinho’s side on the ropes in these final seconds.
41: Juventus applying the pressure towards the break with Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala seeing separate efforts blocked by a crowd of Manchester United shirts.
38: Woodwork! Juventus’ best passing move results in Khedira stroking Bentancur’s cross against the outside of the post. He’s got to hit the target from there.
Best chance of the game goes begging.
35: Save! Juan Cuadrado’s snapshot takes a few deflections but De Gea reacts quickly to make the stop. Saying he’s got the reflexes of a cat doesn’t do him justice.
34: I’d hate to be a referee with Ander Herrera about. He’s constantly in Ovidiu Alin Hategan’s ear about every single tackle. Must be a nightmare at his children’s matches…
33: Danger! Pjanic cynically brings Herrera down about 20-yards from goal in a central position. This has Alexis Sanchez’s name written all over it…
Poor. He’s struck it straight into the Juventus wall and allowed the hosts to break with Khedira rifling one at David de Gea.
30: Close! Nemanja Matic plays a fairly well-struck ball over to Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean peeled off his marker well enough but he couldn’t connect.
27: One for the referee to forget over in the Manchester City game. Its a HOWLER. Raheem Sterling kicks the floor and a penalty is given. Gabriel Jesus tucks it away.
24: Chris Smalling penalised for a shove inside the Juventus penalty area. I’m trying to keep an eye on Paul Pogba – but the Frenchman has barely touched the ball. Saying that, neither goalkeeper has had anything to do yet.
21: There’s only been one goal in the rest of the Champions League fixtures and that belonged to David Silva, as I mentioned. Another talking point that you’ll probably see on twitter later is Sergio Ramos elbowing a Plzen player and getting away with it. Standard night if you ask me…
18: Smart foul from Luke Shaw, who was left stranded by Juan Cuadrado down the right flank. He isn’t half rapid the Colombian. Anyway, Pjanic fails to beat the first man with his delivery and Manchester United clear their lines.
15: Manchester City have taken the lead inside 15 minutes against Shakhtar Donestk courtesy of a David Silva goal.
13: No idea what Nemanja Matic was trying to achieve with that tackle. He’s just flown in recklessly on Paulo Dybala in his own half and referee Ovidiu Alin Hategan couldn’t book him quick enough.
10: Wooosh! Bentancur’s sweet strike takes a wicked deflection off Chris Smalling. It could have gone anywhere but bounces wide of David de Gea’s post. The corner is cleared but Juventus look to be shifting through the gears.
8: United look full of confidence on the ball. They are keeping it well in midfield but haven’t been able to find much quality in the final third.
Exhibit A is Jesse Lingard doing really well to win the ball back in the centre-circle before teeing up Anthony Martial to scuff a shot to Szczesny.
5: Cristiano Ronaldo with his first shot of the evening – It certainly won’t be his last. Dybala flicks a nice ball over to the Portuguese, who volleys into Lindelof’s stomach.
3: Nice tempo in the early stages. Alexis and Juan Cuadrado have both attempted mazy solo runs though the middle. Neither made their intended destinations but I like the tenacity.
Jose Mourinho’s side have started pressing high up the pitch and forced Szczesny to punt the ball straight out of play.
JUVENTUS 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
1: Handshakes, anthem and Cristiano Ronaldo bouncing nine feet in the air to stretch – check! We’re underway in what is pretty much the toughest away fixture in Europe right now.
Apart from Red Star Belgrade, Liverpool can testify to that…
Lights, camera, action…
19:57: Supporters inside the stadium were treated to a fancy lights show before the players emerged from the tunnel. The BT Sport cameras were too busy focusing on Jose Mourinho shaking hands with each and every Juventus player.
Drought
19:54: OK, It’s not really a drought – but still not great from arguably the best player of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo is goalless in each of his last five Champions League games.
I’m currently on a goal-drought of 14 years having hung up my 5-a-side boots early.
Jose interview
19:50: Jose Mourinho has been speaking before the match, but was cautious to call the game ‘important’ but not ‘crucial.’
“It’s important but it’s not crucial. We will not leave this stadium qualified, but also we wont leave the stadium in the Europa League. We still need to play two more matches,” he said.
I get what he’s saying, but shouldn’t the manager of Manchester United be a bit more agressive and positive?
Twitter round-up
Hugo: Well after the Valencia result against Young Boys, we basically have to win tonight to stand a proper chance of getting through. Massive, massive game!
Zaid: The crisis will still linger even if Manchester United get a positive result in Turin. The possibility of happening that is miniscule. And there’s absolutely nothing to brag about…
Andy: I think United can beat this Juve side. We have Pogba Martial Sanchez. If Sanchez & Pogba arguably 2 of the best players in the world turn up then we will win.
Zaid needs a little more Andy attitude if you ask me.
Inside man
19:35: Oh that reminds me. Inside Man is an absolute cracker of a film. Denzel Washington + Diamond Heist = bloody brilliant.
Moving swiftly on, former Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba could use his inside knowledge to help United flee Turin with three points in the bag.
“Every team has a weakness, we just need to find that weakness to win the game,” Pogba said. “They’re a big club, one of the best in the world, with big players. But we are Manchester United, we’re a big club too so hopefully we can go home with a smile on our face, with three points.
“Starting well is always better. And against teams like this we have to start well, we cannot start slowly or badly because they could suddenly score a couple of goals if we do that and close the game. Hopefully tonight it will be different and we will start with more energy and start defensively strong; we will be going for the win.”
Jordi Alba?
19:30: Manchester United have initiated talks to sign Barcelona defender Jordi Alba.
That’s according to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, who claim Manchester United have ‘made contact’ with Alba’s representatives.
Mundo Deportivo claim United chiefs have told Vicente Fores, Alaba’s agent, that they would like to secure his signature because Jose Mourinho is dissatisfied with his options at left-back.
However, SportsMole claim Manchester United will have competition from tonight’s Champions League opponents Juventus – who are also considering the full-back.
What do you reckon Manchester United fans – surely that chap would be a significant upgrade on Luke Shaw.
Odds…
19:25: Well this is certainly a ridiculous bet.
Bookmakers Betway expect former Red Devil Cristiano Ronaldo to keep a lid on proceedings if he scores tonight.
CR7 is 4/11 to hold off celebrating if he fires home against the club he made almost 200 appearances for, while it’s 7/4 for Ronaldo to rejoice with a goal for the Old Lady.
*Quickly (and ashamedly) places a fiver on Ronaldo celebrating*
History
19:20: Since losing 0-3 to Manchester United in the second group stage in February 2003, Juventus have lost just one of their 35 home Champions League matches in the group stages (W24 D10).
I mean… that’s ridiculous, right?
Twitter round-up
Bryan: Can’t say I’m confident going into this, anything other than a defeat would be a great result honestly, hoping to be pleasantly surprised!
Hujckridge: Please help me to understand why Chris Smalling is a regular in the Manchester United XI. Eric Bailly on the bench is simply poor management.
Tommy: If we play tonight like we did the first half against Bournemouth we’ll be torn to shreds, encouraging in the end to see us fight back at Bournemouth and nick all three points but Juve will punish us far worse tonight if we allow them.
No regrets…
19:05: That headline gives me a hankering to listen to Robbie Williams. Goodness me, that song was released before United’s 1999 win over Juventus… I’m old.
Anyway, Paul Pogba allayed talk of a Manchester United exit ahead of his return to Juventus, with the midfielder insisting he does not regret rejoining the Old Trafford giants and remains happy working for Jose Mourinho.
“Do I look sad? Obviously, yes, I’m happy,” Pogba said with a smile. “Like I said again, I am really happy to come back (to United).
“I was really happy to come back to Manchester United, wearing this shirt, playing for this team because it is a big club. Obviously when you are playing in a big club like that there is always talk about this club and we know anything can go on.
“But on the pitch, always happy, always with a smile, fighting for my team-mates, fighting for my team, fighting for my club, fighting for the fans.
“That’s all I do and, yes, I am really happy to do that.”
19:00: Remember that night on April 21, 1999? It was the night Manchester United produced a remarkable comeback to qualify for their first European Cup final in 31 years… and you know what happened after that.
Anyway, below is the side that started that night and above is the full highlights package. Enjoy!
Fred
18:55: I’d also like to know the thinking behind Ander Herrera starting ahead of Fred. That’s a £50million signing on the bench for the biggest match of the season.
Twitter round-up
Mikey: Nemanja Matic and Alexis Sanchez in there to cripple Paul Pogba and give him no room to play. Good thinking, I’m sure that’ll be effective…
Skit: I’m not a Manchester United fan but what can Chris Smalling do that Eric Bailly can’t?!
Samuel: Some Manchester United players starting by default due to lack of quality in the squad. Defensive issues will persist and Matic was always going to start after Fred came off early in the second-half on Saturday. Lingard recall logical.
I’m not wading into the Chris Smalling vs Eric Bailly debate this early, Skit…
Starting XI
18:50: Jose Mourinho makes two changes to the side who beat Bournemouth in stoppage-time. Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard come in for Fred and Juan Mata.
Juventus XI: Szczesny, De Sciglio, Chiellini, Sandro, Bonucci, Pjanic, Khedira, Dybala, Cuadrado, Bentancur, Ronaldo.
Subs: Perin, Benatia, Barzagli, Cancelo, Rugani, Matuidi, Mandzukic.
Manchester United XI: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Lingard, Sanchez, Martial.
Subs: Romero, Bailly, Darmian, Fred, Fellaini, Mata, Rashford.
Latest scores…
18:45: The two early fixtures have reached half-time. Valencia are leading Young Boys 2-1 in Group H – which will really put the pressure on Manchester United to get a result tonight. Roma are also leading CSKA Moscow 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Konstantinos Manolas.
Juve form…
18:40: Juventus are top of Group H and Serie A after a record-breaking start to the campaign.
Allegri’s side won their first 10 matches in all competitions to beat the previous best of eight set in 1930, putting them in the box seat for an eighth-successive league crown.
That run ended with a 1-1 home draw against Genoa on October 20, but since then Juventus have won three-straight matches in all competitions – a run that includes the 1-0 win at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.
Allegri’s side have yet to so much as concede in Group H and will progress to the last 16 if they avoid a defeat tonight.
I suppose I could have saved you the trouble of reading that by saying: Form? Bloody good!
Up for grabs…
18:35: ‘Who can qualify,’ is always a question that signals were at the business end of the Champions League group stages.
Four sides could secure progression to the last 16 but there are a few permutations.
Ajax – through if they win
Bayern – through with a win and Benfica lose
Manchester City – through if they win and Hoffenheim lose
Juventus – through if they avoid defeat, and confirmed in first place if they win
There are four teams who could be dumped out of the competition if they lose and results go against them – but who cares about those losers, right?
Ok… Benfica, AEK Athens, Hoffenheim and Viktoria Plzen are looking vulnerable.
Evening…
18:30: Hello everyone and welcome to our LIVE Champions League coverage featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo… and Cristiano Ronaldo.
You’d have though that his appearance against Manchester United two weeks ago would settling things down – but the Portuguese superstar still dominates the headlines.
Jose Mourinho made no attempt to disguise his aim of finishing second in Group H – in effect conceding that United could not compete with Juventus, who outclassed the Red Devils at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.
But can United silence the doubters and summon spirit of ’99?! I guess we’ll find out shortly.
JUVENTUS vs MANCHESTER UNITED
Romelu Lukaku will be missing as Manchester United take on Juventus in the Champions League.
The 25-year-old pulled up in training ahead of Saturday’s win at Bournemouth and is absent for the Group H encounter in Turin.
Diogo Dalot is out and Marcos Rojo has reportedly not travelled, but Marouane Fellaini and Antonio Valencia are back in contention having travelled to Turin.
Manchester United provisional squad: De Gea, Romero, Grant, Valencia, Young, Darmian, Shaw, Smalling, Bailly, Lindelof, Jones, Fellaini, Herrera, Lingard, Matic, McTominay, Pogba, Mata, Pereira, Fred, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez.
Source:www.express.co.uk