JOSE’S ACE IS A JOLLY GOOD FELLA
For all last night’s top footie action:
MAROUANE FELLAINI dug United out of a hole with a stoppage time winner which put them into the Champions League knock out stages.
But it was a close thing as United’s lack of firepower looked like catching up with them yet again.
Under-pressure boss Jose Mourinho chucked £200m worth of talent on – Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Juan Mate – to try and get him out of a hole.
But in the end it was warhourse Fellaini who did the business when he squeezed a shot home.
Before that United saw all their efforts just fail to go in, then saw keeper David De Gea pull off a superb one handed stop to keep them in it.
This came within a whisker of being the third successive home Champions League match that United have failed to hit the net.
That would have been the first time a United side has suffered that indignity – but Fellaini came to the rescue.
The big Belgian spun in the box and squeezed his shot into the bottom corner and you could feel the relief all around the ground.
You couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for the United players by half-time.
They had tried every which way to get themselves in front and ended up going in goalless yet again.
Burst
Marcus Rashford might have had a couple as he tried to give his boss the flying start he had called for.
Both he and Fred could easily have put United 2-0 in front in the opening seven minutes.
Rashford raced onto a Luke Shaw through ball and burst through in a one-on-one with the keeper.
As David von Ballmoos slid towards him the England striker clipped the ball over him but his effort cleared the bar by inches.
A minute later, Fred tried his luck with a powerfully struck left foot shot which beat Von Ballmoos but suffered the same fate as Rashford’s effort.
Rashford caused more problems when he drilled in a low shot from an angle, which the keeper blocked.
Mid-way through the half it was Rashford again who came close to breaking the deadlock with a fierce 25-yarder which went wide.
Fred had another go, curling a left foot shot past the diving keeper but saw it just fly wide.
The longer it went on there was a chance United would get hit with a sucker punch, and there were a few hearts-in-mouths moments when Loris Benito thumped a shot into the side netting.
Then Fellaini struck – and you could feel United’s relief.
MAN UTD (4-3-2-1): De Gea; Valencia (Mata 72), Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Fellaini, Matic, Fred (Pogba 64); Lingard (Lukaku 64), Martial; Rashford. Subs: Romero, Bailly, Pereira, McTominay.
YOUNG BOYS (4-3-2-1): Von Ballmoos; Mbaba, Von Bergen (Garcia 45), Camara, Benito; Sow, Lauper, Aebischer; Assale, Sulejmani (Fassnacht 66); Nsame (Ngamaleu 83). Subs: Wolfli, Bertone, Schick, Seydoux.