Football: United fights to recover an unlikely late win at Juventus

TURIN (Reuters) – Manchester United on Wednesday beat the Juventus FC 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League thanks to a late free-kick by Juan Mata and a misplaced goal that sparked hopes. to reach the 16th.

Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to have haunted the club that had turned him into a global superstar when he opened the scoring at the opener in the 65th minute, after Juventus dominated the procedure and hit the wooded twice.

Jose Mourinho's team seemed helpless in attack, but after the Portuguese threw themselves against Mata, Marouane Fellaini and Marcus Rashford late in the game, they made the most unlikely return to rekindle their epic victory. from 3 to 2 after the goal of Turin. 1999 semi-finals.

Spaniard Mata equalized with a perfectly executed free kick in the 86th minute and United caused a disaster in Juve with another decisive play, the ball seeming to go in the goal of Alex Sandro after a reversal of Fellaini.

The tournament organizers, UEFA, then credited the goal to Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci, which allowed United to become the first English team to defeat Juventus in 15 years. a previous United team inspired by Ryan Giggs was imposed 3-0 at the Stadio. dello Alpi in 2003.

The impressive final has prevented Juventus from sealing in the last 16. They are still leading the Group H with nine points, but United is second on seven, two ahead of Valencia in third place, while the Young Boys are at the bottom of the group and can not finish. in the first two.

The defeat would probably have forced United to beat Young Boys at home and Valencia to qualify. They can now qualify for the last 16 with a win against the Swiss if Valencia fails to beat Juventus in their next match.

"We thought we were going to have two finals to play. Now we have a final. A win against Young Boys could do it. Let's hope we can qualify, "Mourinho told reporters.

Despite the fact that Juventus missed so many chances to score, the coach also insisted that his team played well.

"I'm really proud of my boys because their performance was really good. Juventus had an opportunity in the first half, but everything was under control, "he said.

"Even though we did not win in the end, I would have been delighted because we played very well."

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has cursed his team's inability to see the match.

"It's a disappointing defeat because the team played well. We need to improve our finishes, because we never manage to finish matches when we have control, "he said.

Juventus' dominant performance at Old Trafford two weeks ago seemed to underline the current chasm between the two big Europeans, which is also reflected in their respective national results: Juve breaks the record, six points ahead leading the Serie A, while United are seventh in the Premier League.

DEADLY VOLLEY

Juve got off to a strong start and nearly started when Sami Khedira traded a Ronaldo center for the second post.

The Italian champions struck again in the second half when Paulo Dybala opened the crossbar on the outside. There was more than an inevitable look on Ronaldo's deadly shot, created by a superb pass from Bonucci, that broke the stalemate.

This time, the Portuguese did not have to party and raise their shirt to work their chest muscles in front of their teammates.

He could hardly have imagined the strong return of his former team, which would have ended up evoking Mourinho, after being whistled after seeming to defy the local fans.