Thomas Hein
Manchester United were second-best in their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Juventus in a Champions League tie on Tuesday. Paulo Dybala scored the only goal of the game where the Red Devils struggled to lay a glove at the Old Lady.
Former United star Cristiano Ronaldo got the assist for the goal. The defeat keeps Jose Mourinho’s men second in the group after a stalemate between Valencia and Young Boys.
The manager played a strong team with Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku all starting. However, he didn’t use any of his substitutes.
Tahith Chong was included in the matchday squad but the youngster remained on the bench.
United were without the services of Alexis Sanchez and Marouane Fellaini due to injuries and that played a role in Mourinho’s decision to not utilize any of his subs.
The club’s website quoted the manager as saying:
“Bear in mind Sanchez was in the stand.
“Lingard was in the stand. Fellaini may have been in the stand or at home as I didn’t see him.”
”The only really attacking option was a young 18-year-old lad who has never played in the first team before. Given the dynamic of the game, I didn’t feel it was appropriate to bring him on.”
“You can’t expect a kid making his debut in a game like this to give you something like scoring a goal. So that’s why I didn’t make any changes on the pitch.”
Mourinho added that Fellaini was a big miss for the team as the Belgian provides the team with a different outlet. He was still pleased with the side’s effort.
