HAPPY HOMECOMING, BUT JOSE KEEPS RON QUIET

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return to Old Trafford in Juventus colours by helping them to a 1-0 win over his former club Manchester United on Tuesday. HT looks at the talking points from the game:

YET TO OPEN ACCOUNT

Ronaldo may have played an integral part in setting up Paulo Dybala's winning goal with a cross from the right, but Juventus’ star player could not get on the scoresheet, with David de Gea pulling off a brilliant save to deny the 33-year-old from his best attempt on the night.

After three rounds of the Champions League, Ronaldo is yet to open his account in Europe’s elite club competition. But that should not worry his fans, given the former Real Madrid man’s impressive record in the knockout stages of the competition.

SLOW STARTERS

Man United have made it a habit to let the opposition control proceedings in the opening half. The Red Devils made a second-half comeback to beat Newcastle United from 0-2 down in the Premier League earlier this month. That was followed by Anthony Martial’s second-half brace against Chelsea that had kept them in the lead until the final minutes.

Against Juve too,

they allowed the visitors ample space and eight chances on their goal in the first half, mustering just one attempt themselves. In the second half though, United came to life with six attempts of which Paul Pogba’s (in pic) shot from outside the box hit the post in the 75th minute.

BATTLE FOR SECOND

A second consecutive draw in the UCL puts Mourinho’s team in a tricky situation in Group H with four points. While they maintain second position thanks to Valencia’s slip up against minnows Young Boys, they have tough games coming up.

First awaits the return leg against Juventus in Turin followed by another difficult game as they visit Valencia before hosting Young Boys, whom they beat 3-0 away. Valencia on the other hand, have an easy home game against Young Boys before travelling to Juve and then hosting United.

"We played against one of the biggest candidates to win the Champions League and we did the possible to get a different result, especially because the way we played in the second half." JOSE MOURINHO, Manchester United manager