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Matchday 4 of the 2018/19 Champions League season has been played, and as expected, it provided lots of excitement and entertaining matches, with some clubs booking their spots in the next round, while others confirmed their eliminations.
The marquee match of matchday 4B was undoubtedly in Group H, as Juventus hosted Manchester United at the Juventus Stadium in Italy. It had so many sub-plots such as Ronaldo and Pogba facing their former clubs, as well as Mourinho’s history with Juve’s sworn enemies Inter (which the fans constantly jaded him for).
Juventus came into the match unbeaten in 14 matches across all competitions, and this saw them as favourites against a haphazard United. The Old Lady’s 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on matchday 3 also put them in pole position.
Juve dominated much of the game, and it seemed like the match would go according to the script when Ronaldo put the hosts ahead in the second half. It was an exquisite volley which could be a contender for the Puskas award to open his Champions League account for his new side, but United had other ideas.
In scenes reminiscent of 1999 when The Red Devils clawed back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against the same opponent en-route their treble win in 1999, United also left it late here. Rallying back with less than five minutes to go to get a victory which solidified their stand in second place in group H and moved them two points clear of Valencia who had earlier on defeated Young Boys.
The result was largely unexpected, going by the recent form guide of both teams, as well as the way the match panned out. But as the saying goes, this is football, and anything is possible.
Here are five reasons why Manchester United pulled off the stunning comeback victory.
#5 Jose Mourinho’s inspired substitutions
The 55-year-old Portuguese manager is widely revered as one of the greatest managers in history and has carved a reputation of being successful wherever he has coached.
His struggles at United are well documented, as things have not exactly panned out as he would have wished at Old Trafford, and his struggles have seen him constantly linked with an exit from the dugout at Old Trafford.
He has however helped calm the storm in recent weeks and has guided the club to four consecutive victories in all competitions, with this victory unarguably one of the best performances by the club since his three-year tenure at the helm.
A large part of the victory has to, however, go to Jose Mourinho, as he proved that he has not lost any of the tactical acumens that led to him being christened The Special One, by making inspired substitutions which decided the match in a positive way.
In the aftermath of Ronaldo’s opener, Mou introduced Juan Mata to boost United’s creativity in the middle and supply crosses, as well as the much-maligned Marouane Fellaini to roughshod the Juventus backline and takes advantage of Mata’s crosses, and these impact substitutions proved to be a masterstroke, as they both influenced the outcome of the match.
Mata equalized with a stunning freekick from 20 yards barely five minutes after coming on, while Fellaini had a big hand in the winning goal, as it was his hassling in the box from an Ashley Young freekick which forced Alex Sandro to deflect into his own net.
Mourinho has long been chided for his ‘outdated’ tactics, but on the night he proved that class is indeed permanent and that he still has what it takes to roll with the big boys in tactical management.
#4 Juventus failed to take their chances
Football is a game of numbers, and whichever team manages to convert more of their chances ultimately prevails at the end of 90 minutes.
For much of the match at the Allianz Arena, Juventus were undoubtedly the superior team, showing their dominance over United, and controlling proceedings to suit their tempo and rhythm.
Paulo Dybala and Blaise Matuidi were comfortable in midfield, and the home side fashioned all the best chances throughout the match, but they, however, failed to convert them.
Sami Khedira had the first chance of the match, hitting the crossbar, same as Paulo Dybala early in the second half, with De Gea well beaten on both occasions.
Juventus were largely comfortable for most of the match, easily finding space, finding runners available but failed to make the most of the gaps created in the final third.
Juan Mata stated as much at the end of the match when he commented that “They had a few clear chances after that (Ronaldo’s goal) to win the match, but they didn’t and we came back”, and United can thank the stars, as on another day, Juventus could well have been out of sight.
#3 Complacency by Juventus
The Old Ladies of Turin are undoubtedly the strongest club in Italy at the moment, winning each of the last seven Scudetti consecutively, as well as the domestic double in each of the last three seasons.
They were unbeaten in all competitions prior to the United match, and hold a six-point lead over Napoli in Serie A, as well as sat top of their UCL group with a perfect record of three wins from three matches.
All these would inevitably bring an air of invincibility to the Juventus players, and this much has been evident in their play of late, as they have struggled to see off opponents in the Serie A, and needed to come from behind to defeat Empoli in Serie A in the penultimate weekend, where Max Allegri warned his players of resting on their laurels.
Against United, Juve were comfortable for so long, as United offered little to no threat, that the Juve players must have thought they had the three points in the bag until the stunning knockout punch by Manchester United.
Captain Giorgio Chiellini castigated this mentality in his post-match comments to Sky Italia, stating that ‘we’ve been threatening this sort of mess for a few games, to be honest, as we get too complacent and run risks that are totally unnecessary’.
In football, it is known that it is not over till its over, and this is a lesson which cost Juventus dearly against Manchester United.
#2 Mother Luck
An essential ingredient for success in life is good fortune, and football is not an exception. Call it grace, good fortune, or good old luck, the bottom line is that despite your best efforts, you need that extra bit of fortuitous circumstances to aid your case, and United had it in abundance on the night.
They were so poor for the majority of the match that they should have been blown away, but a combination of factors ensured they were still in with a shout right till the death of the match.
They had it when the post came to their rescue on two occasions to deny Paulo Dybala and Sami Khedira when De Gea had been well and truly beaten, while it was also good fortune which helped the ball deflect off Alex Sandro and into the back of the net when it could have gone anywhere else.
Ronaldo spared no punches to his former side when he said United did not do anything to deserve the victory, and while not taking anything away from their hard work to stay in the game, and while they undoubtedly created their own luck by converting their chances, it is hard to argue that fortune did not favor them.
#1 They needed the victory more
Valencia’s win over Young Boys earlier in the evening took the Spaniard into second place temporarily and moved them one point ahead of Manchester United in third.
Manchester United’s lethargic league form has seen them almost out of title contention, while also being knocked out by Derby County in the League Cup, so the Champions League represented the only opportunity for the Red Devils to make headway this season.
Juventus with nine points are almost all but guaranteed a spot in the next round, so they did not have the all-out desire and hunger to win the match as United did, as there was more at stake for their visitors.
Hunger and drive are two of the biggest driving forces propelling football teams to achieve victory, and for a club with the stature and illustrious history of Manchester United, a group stage elimination was out of the question considering what their fans have been through in recent years, and ultimately, this was what spurred them to victory, as they needed it much more.
