Manchester United 2-1 Juventus: 5 Talking Points & Analysis

#4 Victor Lindelof answering the calls for defensive stability

Lindelof had endured a troublesome start to the season as he was involved in horrendous mistakes made against Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur. Even after that, the Swede looked shaky and prone to committing a couple of unnecessary errors. His inability to come out victorious in physical duels was utilized appropriately by the opposition who stifled the former Benfica man by putting more men around him in and around the box.

However, after being given a good run of matches, Lindelof has finally seemed to settle properly dealing with United’s mismanaged backline. The signs of the same were there in the loss against Allegri’s team in the first leg itself. Now, the 24-year-old looks more composed and possesses a calmer head to instinctively decide which defensive action he is required to take in a tricky situation.

He has a deceptive pace, which means that Lindelof sprints to recover the ball well enough but it isn’t overtly visible either. Lindelof’s best quality is his tendency to control the ball on the turn and pass it out from the back whilst holding off the pressure exerted by the opposition. At Turin, he dealt bravely with every duel that came his way and was disciplined enough to ensure that the Old Lady didn’t have many clear-cut opportunities.

Though he was guilty of not getting closer and blocking the shots fired by Paulo Dybala and Pjanic, those were one-off mistakes which the lad would surely develop ongoing ahead. Currently, he is providing some assurance that the team desperately requires in the defensive line.

Lindelof was obviously overworked in certain spells during the game and he had to make eight clearances, the most by any player involved on the field. He had a passing accuracy of 88.2% and his growing confidence would definitely please Jose who has struck with the defender through these small difficult times on the field.