United leave it late
Marouane Fellaini scored an injury-time winner to send Manchester United into the knockout stages of the Champions League, and the Belgian’s strike prompted a bizarre touchline celebration from manager Jose Mourinho.
After Fellaini sent a shot on the turn into the bottom corner to secure a 1-0 win over Young Boys at Old Trafford yesterday, Mourinho let out a guttural roar as he picked up a basket of water bottles and smashed them forcefully to the ground in his technical area.
Mourinho gave Fellaini a big hug as the midfielder walked off the field after the game. Fellaini might split opinion among fans – United tend to use a direct, long-ball approach when he is in the team – but he remains a firm favourite of his coach and a go-to player for his team-mates in the latter stages of matches.
Without Fellaini’s goal, United would have faced a tricky trip to Valencia on the final match day in a bid to seal qualification.
Instead, the English club advanced from Group H along with Juventus, who stayed in first place thanks to a 1-0 win over Valencia, and Mourinho certainly enjoyed it.
‘‘For some of my lovers,’’ he said, ‘‘I just want to say for the ones that like statistics: 14 seasons in the Champions League, 14 times qualify through the group phases.
‘‘The season I didn’t play Champions League, I won the Europa League’’
This, however, was another underwhelming display against a team United swatted aside 3-0 in Switzerland at the start of group play.
Mourinho talked up the significance and difficulty of this match against the runaway leaders of the Swiss league, yet decided to drop his two most-expensive signings – Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba – in something of a statement following a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League last weekend.
As well as United, six more teams assured their place in the last 16 as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich put aside their domestic worries to impress on the European stage, while Manchester City, Roma, Ajax and Juventus confirmed they would advance from the group stages with one game to spare.
Following a 3-0 humiliating loss against Sevilla in the Spanish league at the weekend, three-time defending European champions Madrid recovered with a 2-0 win at Roma that secured first place in their group, and Bayern demolished Benfica 5-1 in the wake of yet another disappointing result in the Bundesliga.
Despite their home loss, Roma also advanced from Group G, with both teams knowing they were through following Viktoria Plzen’s earlier 2-1 win at CSKA Moscow.
Gareth Bale put Madrid ahead at the Stadio Olimpico early in the second half before Lucas Vazquez doubled the visitors’ lead from close range in the 59th minute.
Manchester City again struggled against Lyon and needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Sergio Aguero to salvage a 2-2 draw in Group F and seal their spot in the knockout stages.
Lyon were the last team to beat City, who have won 12 of their 14 games since a 2-1 home loss to Lyon in September.
After twice squandering a two-goal lead against Duesseldorf over the weekend, Bayern displayed their attacking force to give some respite to coach Niko Kovac, whose position looked under threat before the game.
Bayern lead Group E with 13 points, two more than Ajax, who cannot be overtaken by third-place Benfica. The Dutch side hosts its German rivals to decide the group winner on December 12.
Ajax moved into the last 16 for the first time in 12 years with a 2-0 win over 10-man AEK Athens, but the game was marred by fan violence in and around the stadium.