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Manchester United stunned Juventus 2-1 in a UEFA Champions’ League Group H match on Wednesday. Thus, United’s hopes of qualifying from the group have been boosted as they now have 7 points from 4 matches. Juventus still top the group with 9 points from 4 matches.
One of the focal points of the match was Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance against his old club. Paulo Dybala was another player to watch out for as he is having a wonderful season with the Bianconeri. However, their presence was not enough to stop United from securing a memorable win.
Juventus were the dominant side with 55% ball possession in the match and should have scored at least 3 goals in the first half itself if their forwards had not missed one chance after another. Ronaldo scored the first goal of the match from a stunning volley in the 65th minute. However, Juan Mata equalized in the 86th minute from a free-kick just outside the box and Alex Sandro scored an own goal from another free-kick in the dying minutes of the game to ensure a United win.
We would now take a look at the 3 noteworthy points of the match:
#1 Ronaldo stamped his class with a wonderful strike
Ronaldo scored his 8th goal in a Juventus shirt and it could well have been his best one till date. He volleyed past De Gea from the edge of the box after a long ball was played to him by Leonardo Bonucci. He did not even stop the ball and slammed it home directly, which underlines his class as a footballer. His celebration by taking off his shirt to show his abdominal muscles was a bit juvenile though.
Ronaldo was involved in some other attacking moves as well and Pjanic hit the post from one of his crosses. He started as a centre-forward in a 4-4-2 with Paulo Dybala, but switched to the wings at times to generate attacks. It seems that he has developed a nice partnership with Dybala as those two exchanged passes at times to trouble the United defence. He was also more direct in his approach and attempted a lot of shots at the United goal.
#2 Juventus paid for their profligacy
Juventus paid for their profligacy and should have won the match by a handsome margin. They had 23 attempts at the United goal but only 3 of them were on target. Ronaldo alone had 8 attempts at goal and Dybala had 4 more. Juan Cuadrado was also guilty of miffing some easy chances as he blasted the ball over the bar from inside his own penalty box on one occasion.
Quite understandably, Juve went all-out for a victory in the match and employed 4-5 players in or around the United penalty box whenever they had possession. However, they should have been a little more cautious in their approach near the opposition penalty area and not waste chances in haste. Their shooting accuracy was also below par as they struggled to put the ball between the nets. Ronaldo’s individual brilliance ensured a goal for them, but as it turned out to be, it was not enough to beat United.
#3 United’s central defence played very well
United’s centre-backs Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof had a wonderful match as they negotiated successfully with numerous Juventus attacks. United defended deep as they knew that Juventus were a considerably better team and a draw would be a good result for them. However, it was not easy to deal with the likes of Ronaldo, Dybala and Cuadrado and both Smalling and Lindelof passed their litmus test.
Smalling put his body on the line on quite a few occasions and made a few vital blocks. Lindelof too, won some battles in the air and defended well in the set-pieces. De Gea made some vital saves too for United. However, their cause was helped by some wasteful shots by the Juventus players and Jose Mourinho would consider himself fortunate to come out with a victory.
