THE VERDICT: UNITED 0 JUVENTUS 1 Ron & Co show gulf in class as Juve stroll

Kept United in it with a few saves as the Reds struggled to contain Ronaldo, Cuadrado and Dybala. Tried to cow Ronaldo with a couple of hefty challenges but did not succeed. Never got to grips with the Portuguese. Was caught on his heels as Ronaldo centred for Cuadrado and was too meek in the challenge. One of his more impressive displays for United, despite Juve’s firepower. Read the game well. Juve had plenty of joy down his side as Cuadrado drifted and Ronaldo switched sides at times. Undistinguished outing. Was disciplined and tried to get things going but the fleetfooted Matuidi and Pjanic outfoxed him. Tried to make things happen but to no avail. Was a particularly imposing shield for Smalling and Lindelof. Hit post. Could not get into the game as Juve dominated possession and when he did get the ball he lacked incision. Cowed by the savvy Alex Sandro from the first minute. Looked very inexperienced against him and struggled. Embarked on the odd run against Joao Cancelo but his decision making was not as sharp as it was at Chelsea. When United supporters screamed ‘move’ Lukaku rarely did. Bossed by Chiellini and Bonucci – too static NOT USED: Bailly, Pereira, Fred, Herrera, Romero, Darmian, Chong UNITED had Premier League champions, World Cup quarter and semi-finalists as well as a World Cup winner in their XI.

Yet they often resembled an under-21 side against the senior and superior might of Juventus in what frittered between a practice match and a contest.

United supporters serenaded Roy Keane, a man synonymous with that famous night in Turin, in what was the only parallel with those 1990s spectacles.

There would be no comeback after the recent valiant efforts. United’s trend of goalless and poor first-halves continued, but against an eminent opponent they could not atone this time.

Sir Alex Ferguson was not present, and if he were he might have had flashbacks to Turin 1996. That was the evening Gary Neville later remembered ‘We lost 1-0 to them in Turin, but it could have been 10-0.’ That United side was not exactly short of experience (Schmeichel, Pallister, Giggs and Cantona) but they were taking tentative steps in the Champions League and had never emerged beyond the group stage. That now remains a possibility in the current campaign.

It should be noted this is a Juventus who conceded two at home to Tottenham earlier this year and trailed at Wembley. United set up with the intention of attacking, but did little of it and seemed starstruck by the black and white shirts and the three stars emblazoned on them. The visitors’ goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s sole first-half save was more of a catch. It boiled down to simple details – Juventus’ attack and defence are both better than United’s and their brilliance at each end was patent. Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci sent Romelu Lukaku scurrying towards the halfway line and Paulo Dybala was as elusive as a ghost inside and outside the Reds’ area. Paul Pogba joked he was doubling as ‘Agent P’ during a video chat with his friend Dybala, the Argentinian who gawped at the ‘historical’ Old Trafford he inhaled on Monday night. Dybala, with his socks tucked inside his shinpads, wears 10 and may develop into the perfect 10. Dybala was born in the same year as Lukaku and what a contrast those two frontmen were. United supporters became so irate with the tepid attack that some screamed ‘moooove’ and Lukaku rarely did against Chiellini and Bonucci. Elite teams need fluid figureheads and Lukaku has been found out at this level in recent matches – he was United’s weakest attacker at Stamford Bridge None Dybala (17) 40% 60% 8 2 21 6 Chiellini Milorad Mazic 73,946 Young Matuidi, despite a more willing second half at the weekend.

Chiellini and Bonucci have out-muscled more fearsome foes than Lukaku and that statistic about him overtaking Didier Drogba in Premier League goals is as meaningless as it is misleading.

Fear crept into Lukaku’s game as he dropped deep to avoid vying with the pair, which was tantamount to waving the white flag, and at one point Mourinho despaired as his infamous first touch ended a United attack.

The Reds boss might have felt the odd pang of regret as he watched midfielders Miralem Pjanic and Blaise Matuidi set the tempo. A move for the former was vetoed in order to allow Juve to sign Pjanic and sell Pogba, for whom Matuidi was United’s fall-back option two summers ago. The combined cost of those two was still cheaper than the £52m Fred, an unused substitute again