IT’S DYBALA THE DESTROYER
Argentina star sinks United as Ronaldo torments his old pals
He plays on the left, he plays on the right, that boy Ronaldo made — well, you know the rest. At Manchester United, they certainly do.
And now they know what it feels like to be on the end of one of those performances by Cristiano Ronaldo, too. Left, right, through the middle, each positional switch causing its own problems, each change showing up the limitations of the local heroes.
They’ve had some wonderful players around these parts, but not one like him, not lately. Fortunes have been spent trying to find a special presence but there really is only one Ronaldo.
Juventus have bought him because they think it might win them the Champions League — and, you know, it just might.
True, this wasn’t Lionel Messi against Tottenham at Wembley earlier in the month. This wasn’t one for the ages. But Ronaldo still made Juventus’s winning goal, had a free-kick and a powerful second-half shot saved, and was a complete nuisance from the moment the match started.
He took the cheers of the travelling supporters when the game ended and was the last off the field to drink in the love of the locals, too. Three fans tried to get more closely acquainted and Ronaldo took that in his stride, too. He accepted the phone from one as he was being wrestled to the ground by stewards and captured a selfie before handing it back.
With head held high, and feet held higher, the intruder left the ground. Ronaldo saluted Old Trafford for what may be one last time, and disappeared down the tunnel. If it is his final visit as a player, it was a very classy farewell.
United, as is their style in recent weeks, were a different team after half-time once chasing the game, but Juventus were better overall. Yes, a point could have been snatched had a 74th-minute shot from Paul Pogba not struck the near post, but this was Juve’s night. They controlled the opening 45 minutes with 71 per cent possession, and defended impressively once United came back at them.
This is not an easy group but Juventus have built a five-point lead in just three matches and will qualify if they win the return in Turin. That won’t help United, mind, who will need Juventus to do them a favour against Valencia on matchday five when they could have nothing to play for.
Short-term, however, there is little immediate damage. While this was not the result United would have wanted, with Valencia and Young Boys drawing it wasn’t the worst. Jose Mourinho’s team are second with a two-point advantage over the Spaniards but the trip to Turin is daunting.
While Wojciech Szczesny was barely troubled in Juve’s goal, it needed another fine display from David de Gea to prevent United being exposed further. His best save came from — who else? — Ronaldo after 51 minutes, striking a shot that would have conjured a second with a lesser figure between the posts.
This is only his third return to Old Trafford since leaving in 2009. It is 5,547 days since he made his debut here as a substitute against Bolton in 2003, and what a player United nurtured. He played on the left, he played on the right — and United are far from the first opponents he has left looking, ahem, slightly inferior.
Back in the days when Sir Alex Ferguson was trying to make United a force in the Champions League, the club had a run of ties against what was then a very athletically powerful, savvy and skilful Juventus side. They caught up in time but, at first, there were a number of sobering experiences. The first half-hour here was a reminder of those encounters.
Not just because Juventus had an early lead, but because they were so dominant. The Italians were far superior technically. It isn’t just the arrival of Ronaldo that has made them so, either. Their defence is tighter, their forwards more mobile. Juve’s movement made United look pedestrian, laboured.
It was clearly the plan to initially absorb pressure and strike on the counter-attack but that approach brought minimal success. When they did get deep into Juve’s half, Massimiliano Allegri’s well organised back line made important interventions and unleashed
counters of their own. And theirs were better.
It certainly helps to have Ronaldo as an outlet. He started on the left, played through the middle, then switched to the right, and a goal soon followed. It came after 17 minutes, by which time Juventus had already come close. The outstanding Joao Cancelo whipped in a lovely cross that was met by Paulo Dybala, who steered his header wide.
Five minutes later, when Ronaldo exploited the space between Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof, the Argentina striker was the beneficiary. The cross was aimed near post where Juan Cuadrado was kept out by Chris Smalling, but the ball went loose and Dybala was quicker to react than the sluggish Lindelof. It was a straightforward chance and he made it look so — a smart finish that left the recovering De Gea no chance. It was no more than Juventus deserved, and Dybala, too. It took his total in the Champions League this season to four in three matches, the most explosive start in this competition by any Juventus player since Alessandro Del Piero in 1997-98.
They could have had more, too. In the 22nd minute, a Cancelo shot forced an excellent save from De Gea, and when Ronaldo returned to the left flank it wasn’t long before he had been bundled over by Ashley Young.
The free-kick was from a difficult angle but there was no doubt who was going to take it. Ronaldo scored 62 goals at Old Trafford in the red of Manchester United and, while he had promised not to celebrate if he made it 63 in the shirt of another, there is little doubt he wanted more. He nearly got more, too — the wall splitting nicely for him and De Gea parrying the shot. Out it came, to Blaise Matuidi, but De Gea was equal to that, too.
At times, United were as sloppy as their travel arrangements. Having been late for their last Champions League match, against Valencia, they stayed at a hotel 800 yards from the stadium — and managed to be late again.
Their play was hardly more impressive early on. Romelu Lukaku barely got a kick and, when he did, hit one crossfield pass so monstrously off target it began a Juventus counter-attack.
Lukaku talked up a possible move to Juventus while on international duty recently. He wishes.
THE Juventus No 7’s first significant contribution of the night was to pull a trick on Ashley Young right in front of the dug-outs.
Fouled, Cristiano Ronaldo got to his feet laughing and it was no wonder. When Ronaldo left England in 2009, Young was a bombing left winger for Aston Villa. Here, aged 33, he was playing at full back for Manchester United. On the right. And he was captain.
It would take a while to talk Ronaldo through how United have got to where they are, but he knows it already. Part of him has always remained in Manchester and, as such, he recognises how it has come to this.
Amid all the talk of Ronaldo before the game, some of it sought to make comparisons with Paul Pogba, which was unfair and fair at the same time.
Unfair because the two players were at different stages of their careers when they sought to make an impact at Old Trafford. Ronaldo was a kid, Pogba — when he came back to the club two years ago — was a Serie A winner and Champions League finalist.
But fair because both are now paid to make big impacts on matches. Both are expected to take their teams to high places — and, so far at least, only one of them does.
Ronaldo was invested heavily in this game right from the start. That was clear because of the way he played. Ronaldo probably does less work when the opposition are in possession than he ever did, and the bar was set pretty low a long time ago.
Here, though, he raced back 30 yards to beat Young to a loose ball in the United half. Then he made an important header to prevent a cross penetrating the Juventus penalty area.
Ronaldo was, in short, highly visible long before he provided the cross from the right that led to the opening goal.
Pogba, meanwhile, was less than prominent. The France midfielder was loitering in that foppish, looselimbed way of his — on the fringes rather than central to the play.
In the second half he improved greatly, as did United, and the quick turn and shot he powered against a post was a moment of high class. Trouble was, we waited almost 80 minutes for it.
Earlier on and seeking influence, he had struck a Hollywood pass straight out of play when trying to find Romelu Lukaku from 60 yards. Team-mate Victor Lindelof chose to applaud that, but nobody else among the 73,946 present even considered it.
It was pertinent at this stage to wonder just what we should expect from Pogba. What are his strengths? Sometimes it is hard to say. He should be overwhelmingly strong and powerful but doesn’t necessarily look it. He isn’t particularly fast and, for a 6ft 3in man, he is not overly effective in the air. Ronaldo, meanwhile, let us know what he was about as soon as he arrived at United in 2003.
Nobody here when he made his debut as a substitute against Bolton on the opening day of that season will forget it. He was quick, direct, strong, confident.
Off the field, Ronaldo impressed just about everybody. The captain at the time was Roy Keane, not easy to win over. Keane said in his second autobiography: ‘Ronaldo was immediately one of the hardest-working players at United. Most of the players I knew worked hard, but Ronaldo had the talent on top of work-rate.’
Keane has spoken harshly of Pogba in recent times. He is not alone in that. One wonders what he made of the way the former Juventus player arrived at United in 2016. Behind the flashbulbs, the dry ice and the publicity was supposed to lurk a footballer.
It is fair to say we have not seen that footballer enough. Much of this is not Pogba’s fault. The publicity on the day he signed was United’s idea.
But equally there are lessons to be learned from Ronaldo’s pursuit of excellence. Pogba is not shy of work. He puts a shift in on the field and is not a poor trainer.
Maybe the answer is that he just needs to play for a better team. Ronaldo has always thrived most when given the platform to play where and how he wishes. Sir Alex Ferguson ensured he had that in the glory years and asked other players to make sacrifices.
Jose Mourinho tends to put players in tactical straitjackets. With this United manager, the system now always trumps the power of the individual.
But real superstars make the teams they play in a little better, no matter how low the starting point. Superstars, more often than not, find a way to bring their influence to bear on a game.
Ronaldo will do that until he packs it in. Pogba — despite some flashes of influence here — is yet to start and he is already 26.