FULL REPORTS: Pages 45-47
JOSE Mourinho admitted his Manchester United players were outclassed by Juventus in the Champions League last night.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford was a triumphant one as Paulo Dybala’s closerange finish fired classy Juve five points clear at the top of Group H.
It was a frustrating night for Mourinho, who saw his side suffer only their second home European defeat since March 2013, when Ronaldo scored Real Madrid’s winner.
The United supremo said afterwards: “We played one of the biggest candidates to win the Champions League”, but he also admitted his side couldn’t match the Italians.
“With the team we played it was to let the boys feel positive and take the positive feeling from our match at Stamford Bridge,” said Mourinho.
“But Juventus are a different level of quality, I have to be honest. A level of quality, stability, experience, know how. The base of the team, they have (Leonardo) Bonucci and (Giorgio) Chiellini.
“That’s the base that allows them to play with the freedom in attack.
‘Lose the ball, no problem, we are here’. We could deserve a goal for the effort of the boys but it was not possible.”
The two sides will meet again at the Allianz Stadium on November 7 when a win will send Juve into the last 16. It was a much less stressful night for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, whose side swept aside Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 in Ukraine.
Two goals in five first-half minutes by captain David Silva and Aymeric Laporte had City cruising before substitute Bernardo Silva (left) rounded off the scoring.
“We were outstanding,” said Guardiola. “We created a lot of chances and it was an amazing result.”