Images of Ronaldo still adorn the corridors of Old Trafford where his record, during his six-years in Manchester, was phenomenal.
A total of 118 goals in 292 appearances, three league titles, a Champions League crown and amazing displays which elevated his status to the greatest the English Premier League has seen. Manchester United, who had just two shots on target, were on the back foot from the start in this Champions League group game.
At one point in the first-half Juventus enjoyed over seventy-five percent possession and had restricted United to just one touch inside its penalty area. The stats did not improve much for United after the break, the English club ended the night with thirty-nine percent possession and manager José Mourinho admitting that the Italians were at a “different level.”
The only goal of the game came in the seventeenth minute when Ronaldo, free to roam as and where he liked, crossed from the right finding the impressive Dybala, who side-footed home for his fourth Champions League goal of the season. Another Portuguese player to impress for Juventus was João Cancelo whose surging runs caused havoc in the United defence.
The 24 year-old, who started his career at Benfica, was born in Setúbal, the same municipality as José Mourinho, and in the very year that José was assisting the great Sir Bobby Robson reach the Champions League semi-final with FC Porto.
United under Mourhino, who may even struggle to get through the group stages this year, came closest to scoring when Paul Pogba’s shot hit the post after the break, but an equaliser would have been undeserved. This result puts the Italians in total control of Group H with nine points. United trail five points behind in fourth.
If Juventus beat United in the return fixture in ten days time, they will have won the group with two games to spare. A draw will be enough for the Italian champions to secure qualification for the knockout phase.
The good news for United is that Valencia were held at Young Boys which means they have only got two points; Young Boys prop up the table with one. In Group ‘E’, Benfica came close to gaining a valuable point away at Ajax but succumbed to Mazraoui’s deflected winner deep into stoppage time.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score four hundred goals in Europe’s top five leagues, as Juventus dropped points for the first time this season against Genoa last weekend. Ronaldo’s fifth goal in ‘Serie A’ was added to his eighty-four Premier League strikes for Manchester United and three hundred and eleven in La Liga for Real Madrid. The Portugal captain tapped in after João Cancelo’s shot was blocked. CR7 had earlier hit the post with a header.