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UEFA Champions League: Paulo Dybala scores in Juventus’ 1-0 win over Manchester United
Juventus clinched a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester United as Cristiano Ronaldo’s much-awaited return to The Theatre of Dreams saw his side win their third consecutive Champions League match this term, on Wednesday.
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Although he couldn’t score, Ronaldo set up the only goal of the game when his cross from the right flank found Argentine star Paulo Dybala, who then calmly executed a finish from close range to help his side walk away with three points.
Here is the goal:
Here’s another look at Dybala’s goal!
His close range finish after Ronaldo’s cross proved to be the winner at Old Trafford.#Dybala #Juventus #MUFC #UCL
— Under The Floodlights (@UTF_Sport) October 23, 2018
The Turin club had a lot of opportunities in the first half as they dictated proceedings before the break statistically—with 10 shots at the goal. Manchester United, on the other hand, struggled to find their feet as they could muster just one shot at the Juve goal.
It was only after half-time that the home side started to show some improvement in their game and it was French midfielder Paul Pogba, who almost scored the equaliser but much to his dismay and the fans, the ball could only find the post.
The match was billed as Ronaldo’s return to his former club from where his career had kick-started under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson. Thanking him for all his contributions, the star forward had walked into the game with a deafening response at the Old Trafford by both the home and the travelling fans. And he didn’t disappoint.
He might not have had a goal to his name by the time the final whistle blew but his performance was reminiscent of his golden days in an United shirt from 2003-2009.
Also read: UEFA Champions League: Manchester City ease past Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0
Yet, it was through his cross from the right wing that was pounced upon by Dybala who scored, sending David De Gea the other way in the 17th minute.
Ronaldo could have had one to his name had it not been for De Gea’s brilliant save after the break.
On the flip side of the story, it was United’s miserable show that was again brought to the forefront. After having staged comebacks in the second half of their earlier two matches (against Newcastle and Chelsea), Jose Mourinho’s men failed to emulate that same feat this time, mostly due to their blunt attack.
It was just seconds before the 90-minute mark that Anthony Martial—whose hit form for United off late-forced a save from Juventus’s keeper Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish custodian’s other save came way before when he saved a Pogba header, which goes to show how poor United has been with their attacks. They had just six shots in the entire match.
His image as a talented midfielder during his days at Juventus was by-far a distant picture as he failed to make an impact on the scoreline. Belgian Romelu Lukaku’s poor form continued as his goal drought has extended to eight matches for his club in all competitions.
Image credit- Evening Standard
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