Magic Mata to the rescue for United
United seal dramatic victory at the death with frantic own goal
IT wasn’t a goal for the highlight reel. It wasn’t one like Cristiano Ronaldo had scored earlier. But the 90th-minute winner that put Manchester United firmly on course for the Champions League knockout stage would have been a thing of beauty to Jose Mourinho.
This was a reward for a resolute defensive display, one that had kept United in touch with a superior Juventus side until a remarkable five minutes in which the game turned on its head.
It was injury time when Ashley Young curled in a free-kick that seemed to leave Juve’s defence in chaos.
A bundle of players attacked the ball at the far post, Paul Pogba among them. He was claiming the goal, but it looked as if full back Alex Sandro got the final touch. There was a stunned silence, a moment when it was thought Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan might save the home side — and then he signalled the goal.
As for the equaliser, let’s just say the third touch is a charm. Juan Mata had a feel of the ball on two occasions as a substitute, before unleashing the free kick that brought United level.
They now have two games to ensure they stay up on Valencia’s points total. And while one of those matches is Valencia away, they will fancy their chances with that.
A solid defensive display — and the odd slice of luck — kept them in this game, but it needed Mata’s brilliance with a dead ball to make it count.
Anthony Martial and Pogba combined to win the free kick, but Mata got the last word, a magnificent curling effort that left Wojciech Szczesny clutching at air.
Until that moment it had looked to be Ronaldo’s night. This time he did celebrate. He said he wouldn’t, at Old Trafford, out of respect to his former club and their fans.
Here, in the shadow of the Alps, there was no such obligation. So when he scored the goal that looked to have undone so much fine defensive work by Manchester United he celebrated like, well, Cristiano Ronaldo.
He ran to the left of the goal and pulled up his shirt to reveal that washboard torso, a central core so firm and toned a small tower block could be constructed around it with no query from the planning department.
How long does Ronaldo work on athletic tone? Probably as long as he works on the first-time finishing that flummoxed Manchester United.
Until that point, they had proved extremely hard to break down. Juventus hit the woodwork twice, and spurned several good opportunities, but United surely anticipated that when they arrived with a resolute defensive plan.
What no club can adequately guard against is the one chance that Ronaldo needs to score. Not even a clear cut chance, either. Most strikers would have struggled to convert Leonardo Bonucci’s pass forward into a goal, even as perfectly placed as it was. Ronaldo, instead, made it look easy.
He broke clear of Victor Lindelof in the penalty area, with the ball arriving over his right shoulder.
Take a touch? Are you mad.
Ronaldo watched it in all the way, let it drop as if possessing a sixth sense and volleyed it past David de Gea as if engaged in a round of shooting practice. It was sublime. The run, the connection, the execution, all had to be immaculate for it to work as well as it did.
At 33, he shows no signs of compromise in his performance level. What were Real Madrid thinking, letting him go?
From there, Juventus could have walked away with it. Ronaldo was now the provider, setting up Miralem Pjanic, whose shot forced a brilliant save from De Gea. Pjanic then played a one-two with Juan Cuadrado before wasting his shot. Then it was Ronaldo’s turn again — a nicely-weighted pass for Cuadrado whose shot went wildly over the bar, a real howler.
It was in first-half injury time when Manchester United had their first shot on target.
A tame, low effort from Pogba, just over 20 yards out on the left, easily mopped up by Szczesny in the Juventus goal.
Not that Jose Mourinho would have minded. This was about
containing Juventus, soaking up their pressure and striking back on the counter attack — and they did most of that rather successfully. While Juventus had mustered ten goal attempts in the opening 45 minutes, just one had been on target and that a deflection kept out by De Gea.
Indeed, the game had gone 31 minutes before Juventus managed a shot of note and even that had come as the result of a lame Manchester United free kick. When Ander Herrera was slyly held back, referee Hategan gave a foul in a dangerous area, just outside the penalty box.
Alexis Sanchez, deployed as a centre forward in place of the injured Romelu Lukaku, stepped up to take it, but curled his shot torso height and it was repelled by the Juve wall.
The Italians broke and Sami Khedira was set on his way, but snatched at his shot early when patience might have been rewarded. It was a hard hit but straight at De Gea, who was never troubled.
This did, however, spark Juve’s best spell of the match and in the space of two first-half minutes they should have taken the lead.
Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t at the centre of the goal mouth action, but he was always involved in the link play, making an impact in all areas of the field. In the 35th minute he turned up on the right, hitting a low cross that picked out Khedira perfectly. He had time to turn and place his shot, but tried to make it too perfect in eluding De Gea and found only the outside of a post.
It was by far Juve’s best chance of the half.
Their other contained an element of fortune. Juan Cuadrado, who has made a success of his career in the Italian league without ever looking like he would haunt Chelsea in the way Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne have, struck a cross from the right.
This deflected off Nemanja Matic, forcing a save from De Gea, low to his right.
Fortunately for United, Victor Lindelof was first to react, kicking the ball clear before any of Juve’s lurking forwards had the chance to make it count.
United’s opportunities were limited at best. In the 29th minute, a Matic chip came close to setting up Sanchez, but while he timed his run through Juve’s defensive ranks perfectly he could not get the touch to make it count.
Mourinho looked on, impervious. He was insistent before the game that Manchester United’s qualification depended on their next two games, not this one, and that a point would most certainly do here.
It needed no little luck, as well as resistance, mind — and within five minutes of the resumption Paulo Dybala hit a curling shot from outside the area that struck the top of De Gea’s bar.
Anthony Martial made a surging run into Juve’s box, too, but couldn’t transfer his recent Premier League scoring form and steered his shot wide of the far post.