3 reasons why Manchester United beat Juventus in Turin

#2 The right combinations emerging for Manchester United

Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof had quite commendable outings yet again. Against an intimidating Juventus attack, they held their own for large periods. Lindelof, in particular, is really starting to grow into his role as United's dependable man at the back. There was little that he could have done about that Ronaldo finish and should count himself privileged to have had the best view of that piece of magic.

Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez are combining well up front. The Shaw-Pogba-Martial combination on the left side is helping United play some slick football as Lukaku's exclusion makes sense increasingly as the games pass by.

Jesse Lingard, returning from injury, looked off the pace but Ashley Young put in a solid shift at right-back and helped stifle the attacking impetus of Alex Sandro. Paul Pogba took some time to grow into the game but he made his presence felt in the second half and won the freekick from which United would go on to equalize.

There is a sense of stability about Manchester United once again. They don't look as vulnerable at the back as they used to about a month ago. The goals are starting to come and there are fewer things to worry about for the manager and the players after a string of impressive displays just when everyone had written them off.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Nishant Jayaram