UNITED SPECIAL Chong not used against ‘Harvard’ defenders
JOSE Mourinho explained why he decided not to give Tahith Chong his United debut against Juventus.
The 18-year-old (pictured) was called up to the first-team squad for the first time and warmed up regularly in the second half of Tuesday night’s Champions League defeat – but was an unused substitute.
Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard and Marouane Fellaini were all out injured for the tie and Mourinho did not make a change throughout the game, despite also having Ander Herrera, Fred and Andreas Pereira available on the bench.
Mourinho lauded Juventus centre-halves Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini after United’s 1-0 loss and felt the raw Chong would not make headway against such an experienced Juve team.
“Alexis Sanchez was in the stand,” Mourinho explained. “Lingard was in the stand, Fellaini, may or may not be in the stands, he might have been at home, I did not see him.
“The only attacking option I had on the bench was an 18-year-old lad who I had never played in the first-team before. And I didn’t think, given the dynamic of the game, that it would have been appropriate to have put him on.
“You can’t expect a young kid, making his debut in a game like that, to give you something or perhaps score a goal, so that’s why we didn’t make any changes and stuck with the players we had on the pitch.
“We play against one of the biggest, really biggest candidates to win the Champions League and we did all we possibly could to get a different result,” Mourinho added. “Especially because of the way we played in the second half. We didn’t, especially because Mr Bonucci, Mr Chiellini, they could go to some Harvard University to give classes about how to be a central defender.” OUT of his depth. That was Jamie Carragher’s brutal verdict on Victor Lindelof’s cameo against Spurs two months ago.
If anyone knows what it takes to be a Premier League defender, it is the former Liverpool player.
A year on from his £30.7m move from Benfica, it was a fair comment.
This was the time to judge Lindelof. Did he really have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Pallister, Stam and Vidic in recovering from a tough start to make the position his own?
It has got to the stage where CRISTIANO Ronaldo has posted a lovely message to his former manager and mentor Sir Alex Ferguson after the pair were reunited this week.
Ronaldo was back in Manchester with Juventus for their 1-0 Champions League win against United on Tuesday night.
And the Portuguese winger, who spent six years at Old Trafford from Lindelof pointing to his temples to remind his team-mates to stay switched on, or putting in a 7/10 performance have regularly been hailed as turning points in his United career.
But Tuesday night’s defeat to Juventus felt significant.
After a tough start – Lindelof was nowhere to be seen for Paulo Dybala’s opener – the Swede grew into the game and United’s defence did not capitulate.
When Paul Pogba hit an aimless 60-yard ball out of play, it was Lindelof who was applauding him, encouraging the former Juventus midfielder to keep going. Just as his 2003, took time out of his schedule to meet Ferguson.
Ferguson received an incredible reception last month when he made his first appearance at a United game since he suffered a brain haemorrhage in May.
After his return, Ronaldo posted a picture with the former Reds boss, who looked in good health once again.
Ronaldo captioned the picture of the pair with the message: ‘A great coach team-mates had during his dark days a year ago.
Lindelof has put in some of his best career performances on the European stage and he relished those one-on-one duels with Cristiano Ronaldo. As he vowed pre-match.
“I always like a challenge and always enjoy testing myself against the best players so if I get a chance to play, it’s going to be fun against him and, hopefully, I can give him a rough time,” he said before the game.
A year on from his Huddersfield nightmare, Lindelof showed glimpses of the player Mourinho had been told great things about by his Portuguese contacts.
In trademark style, he did not have to resort to committing a foul against Juventus and no one made more clearances, blocks and interceptions than Lindelof.
The next step now is showing the personality we all know Lindelof has when he is on the ball. Whether it is by instruction or fear of making Victor Lindelof on the prospect of facing Ronaldo and above all a wonderful man. Taught me so many things inside and outside the pitch. Great to see you in good shape, boss!’
Ferguson and Ronaldo have always had a strong bond, shown when the pair were filmed embracing moments after the 33-year-old had lifted the Euro 2016 trophy in France for Portugal.
Before Juventus’ win on Tuesday, Ronaldo had said: “It’s a hugely a mistake, the 24-year-old has not always brought the ball out from the back or tried those daring through balls like he did at Benfica. That is an outlet United are missing when it comes to building attacks – Mourinho even pushed Pogba into a deeper role during that remarkable second-half comeback against Newcastle earlier this month to try and solve it. Lindelof has now started nine games for United this season and has looked most assured alongside Chris Smalling, someone who can point and encourage during a game. And Mourinho appears to have settled on the pair as his first-choice centre-back partnership this season after using a variety of combinations, including Scott McTominay. “Today, I have to say Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof had a very positive game. I think it’s the first time Lindelof played a game of this dimension,” Mourinho said after the Juventus defeat. Now it’s time for the defender to build on it. emotional thing for me to come back. I can remember what it was like when I was here in Manchester. I know all about the history and won lots of trophies here – the cups, leagues, the Champions League.
“I remember the support. The support is fantastic. Sir Alex Ferguson is someone I will never ever forget, someone who gave me a huge lift in my career and I would like to express my best possible wishes to him.”