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Manchester United and Valencia clashed in their final Champions League game which was a dead rubber. Manchester United had already secured their qualification to the next stage and Valencia were confirmed of the Europa League spot. Yet, there was one thing undecided, that is the group winners. Manchester had a very slim yet a chance to top the group if they defeated Valencia and Juventus somehow fell to Young Boys.
Jose Mourinho rotated his squad with qualification guaranteed. Sergio Romero took his place between the posts as David de Gea was rested. Chris Smalling was rested with Phil Jones taking his place. Marcos Rojo started ahead of Ashley Young and summer signing Fred started alongside Pogba and Fellaini in the middle. Andreas Pereira got a rare start for the Reds.
Valencia started with their strongest possible 11 with nothing but pride to play for. The odd one out was Jaume Domenech who replaced Neto between the sticks. Denis Cheryshev also got a place in the starting 11. The rest, Santi Mina, Kondogbia, Parejo, Soler, Batshuayi, all started against the Red Devils.
Manchester United's night got off to a horrific start as Valencia took the lead as early as the quarter hour mark. Carlos Soler rolled the ball in between the legs of Bailly which left Sergio Romero flat-footed. The second half saw Jose Mourinho trying to make amends by replacing Rojo with Ashley Young.
Although United tried to attack with more intent, it was short-lived as United ended up conceding another goal from a Valencia counter-attack in the 47th minute. Mourinho further tried to salvage something out of the game by introducing Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard.
Rashford got one back for the Red Devils late in the 87th minute but it was too little too late for Manchester United as they fell to Valencia at the Mestalla.
Here are five talking points from the game.
#5 Valencia could be a force to reckon with in Europa League
In spite of the Champions League being the bigger and better European Competition, the addition of Champions League sides to the second-tier European contest would add flair to it. With English power-houses Chelsea and Arsenal already running wild in the group stages, along with AC Milan, Sevilla, Real Betis, and Villarreal, the competition has got some early front-runners.
Now, Napoli, Inter Milan, and Valencia are going to be added to the list of title favourites. Valencia has been underwhelming in both the league and Europe in terms of performance. But the team has some good young performers who could lead the team to victories. They put up a good performance against Real Madrid despite losing 2-0. Yesterday against United, again they put up a good performance.
There have been moments of spark from the Valencia team throughout the season be it a gritty performance against Barcelona or in the Champions League. If Valencia are going to play the same brand of football that they did against Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United, this team could lift a European silverware.
#4 Phil Jones' nightmares continue
Phil Jones has not been earning first-team call-ups very frequently. Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly are the regular starters at the centre-back spots. Victor Lindelof is the third choice centre-back. Thus Jones is only the fourth-choice centre-back and rarely plays. Jones' starts at Manchester have not been very memorable as well, yesterday was yet another day which he would like to forget.
In the 90 minutes, he managed only two tackles out of the four that he attempted. He won only one aerial duel and was dribbled twice. He was easily the worst United player on the pitch. The worst part of his horrific night was his terrible own goal that gave Valencia breathing space.
United was looking to play with more intent but one counter-attack shifted the momentum. Michy Batshuayi put Jones under pressure for pace and control of the ball and poor Phil Jones rolled the ball past his own goalkeeper.
This isn't the first time that Jones has scored an own goal. He has become the first player to score an own goal for the Red Devils in Champions League since Phil Jones himself back in 2011, against Benfica. In his United career, he has now got 5 goals and 5 own goals. He last scored an own goal against Tottenham in the 2017-18 season when he left De Gea lost for reflexes.
Jones was at it again.
#3 Is Fred the worst signing made in the summer?
Fred was termed as the next big thing for Manchester United as they do with every signing they complete. The Brazilian signed with the Red Devils for a £50 million in the summer. Since his move, he has failed to start for the full 90 minutes in the Champions League. He missed the previous games against Valencia and Juventus while featuring only against Young Boys.
There hasn't been one game till now which makes us say that Fred is a good signing to make. He has started in Premier League games but has played the full 90 minutes on only three occasions, against Brighton, Tottenham, and Everton. Manchester lost two of those three games.
The only big team that Fred has featured against has to be Tottenham. He was horrific against Tottenham, losing possession often, dispossessed four times, misplaced a lot of passes which put his passing accuracy at a measly 76 percent.
Valencia was another test which he did not pass with flying colours. He was on the pitch for 57 minutes with no big impact. He was dispossessed twice and made 36/44 passes with none of them being a key pass. Due to minimal impact, Jose Mourinho had to take him off.
He has been a shadow of what he was at Shakhtar Donetsk which is the prime reason for United signing him. He has been very underwhelming till now. He has potential but till now his performances would only lean towards calling him one of the poor signings made in the summer.
#2 Most Manchester United players have a forgettable day
This sums up the horrific night that Manchester had at the Mestalla. Every Valencia player seemed to be better than their counterparts. When we glare into their player ratings we can comprehend the same story. The performances on the pitch were just that. While Kondogbia, Cheryshev, Parejo, and Soler impressed in the midfield, United was hopeless.
Not only midfield, but United was also hopeless in the forward and defensive end as well. The defence absolutely had no communication amongst themselves. Antonio Valencia lacked pace for the whole game. Bailly and Jones both looked clearly off colour. Rojo was still not enough to replace Ashley Young.
We've already talked in detail about Fred. Paul Pogba missed a sitter in front of goal and gave the ball away cheaply, delivering another inconsistent performance. Juan Mata did very little. Romelu Lukaku continued with his poor first touch. Poor Andreas Pereira was jeered hard by the crowd. The youngster perhaps due to the pressure did not make any impact but he had one good shot on target in the second half.
Only time will tell how United will cope with the heavyweights in the knockout stages.
#1 A big chance squandered by Manchester United
Nobody hoped that United would top the group even if they had won at the Mestalla. But in a brilliant turn of events, Juventus, despite starting with Ronaldo among their ranks, lost to Young Boys. But simultaneously United also lost to Valencia.
Had Manchester United started with the intent to win the game no matter what, they could have had the better of Valencia who have been struggling. Jose Mourinho either assumed that Juventus would win in any case or he took Valencia lightly.
While Massimiliano Allegri went all out against Young Boys, fielding his best 11 to grab the top spot, Mourinho hesitated. This backfired on the Red Devils, as the out of shape lineup lost to Valencia and when Mourinho would have known of the proceedings at Switzerland, he must have been gutted.
Now the problem for United is, they are low on confidence and momentum. The draw on Monday will put them in Pot 2. The possible opponents for them? Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, PSG, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Porto. But what if they finished first? These would have been their possible opponents: Atletico Madrid, Schalke 04, Ajax, Lyon, and Roma. United will definitely be frustrated.
