Juventus Beat Man United To Take Charge Of Group H

By Max Wise

Juventus beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday to go five points clear of their Champions League Group-H.

The highlight of the match day-three clash centered on Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, who was playing against his former club for the first time since switching camp this season, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who was returning to the club and venue that announced him to the football world.

But, the game was won for the visitors by Paulo Dybala, who capitalised on a poor marking at the hosts’ expense to hit home a rebound in the 17th minute.

The defeat is the first in three games for Jose Mourinho's Red Devils, who occupy the second spot with four points; two points ahead of Valencia, who drew 1-1 at Young Boys in the group’s early kick-off game.

Juventus scored with the first real chance that came their way as Paulo Dybala fired a rebound inside the right post in the 17th minute after the ball broke to him in the box.

Joao Cancelo met a precise pass in the 22nd minute with a nice touch on the edge of the box and produced a shot to the middle of the goal, which was rounded up by David De Gea.

Juventus continued to dictate the pace with Manchester United unable to hold them down in the midfield, and Blaise Matuidi wasted an opportunity in the 39th-minute when he latched onto a rebound inside the penalty area to direct a shot at goal which De Gea saved beautifully

Manchester United came into the game quite a bit from the restart but still could not find a way through the Juventus’ back line.

Cristiano Ronaldo made a yard for himself and produced a mid-range rocket of a shot towards the top right corner, David De Gea pulled off a fantastic save to stop the effort before the referee whistled for an offside.

Blaise Matuidi received the first yellow of the evening in the 59th minute and Ashley Young followed suit for Manchester United in the 77th minute, two minutes after Paul Pogba’s goalbound strike had hit the left upright and bounced off goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny's head to a corner kick that was wasted.

Massimiliano Allegri made the first substitution of the evening in the 81st minute by bringing on Andrea Barzagli for Juan Cuadrado, and Giorgio Chiellini went into referee Milorad Mazic’s book in the 83rd minute, few seconds after Romelu Lukaku missed a good chance by heading over the bar from close range.

Douglas Costa replaced Joao Cancelo in the 87th minute, and Ronaldo had a shot blocked to safety the 88th minute before Wojciech Szczesny made good save to Martial’s long-range shot towards the bottom right corner as the game closed three minutes into injury time.