Juventus 1-2 Manchester United: Red Devils' Player Ratings
The highly anticipated Champions League fixture between Juventus and Manchester United resulted in the Red Devils running out as the victors. Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Bianconeri the lead through a brilliantly worked up goal.
Despite Juventus dominating the major portions of the play, United scored two goals in the dying moments of the game to come from behind and win the precious three points in Turin. So let's rate every United player based on their performances last night.
David de Gea - 7.5/10
The Spaniard made a couple of good saves, one shot that was deflected off Matic and another curler from the edge of the box. He couldn't have done anything about Ronaldo's moment of brilliance. His distribution helped United move up the pitch occasionally too. A solid performance overall.
Ashley Young - 5/10
Right-back is a position where you could argue that United needs an upgradation. A new signing perhaps will help. Throughout the match, Young looked to struggle defensively. The highlight of his game was the inch-perfect cross is produced to set up United's winner.
Chris Smalling - 6.5/10
Did some pretty good job in the first half to contain Ronaldo. Despite the constant Juventus threat he looked to cope up with the hurdle fairly well. All in all, Smalling had an average game, nothing more, nothing less.
Victor Lindelof - 6/10
Looked completely in control for the first half of the game. He gave nothing away and made a couple of crunching tackles. His lack of pace and agility allowed Ronaldo to make the move for the goal. However, he can't be blamed for the goal, it was Ronaldo after all. Lindelof looked drifted out and seemed vulnerable in the second spell of the game.
Luke Shaw - 6/10
His movement forward caused United problems at the back. Cuadrado made the use of the spaces to its fullest. Arguably, Pogba should have guarded the channel in Shaw's absence but the Frenchman himself played a very advanced role which meant there was no one to cover the left flank.
Ander Herrera - 7/10
Right from the start, Herrera retracted to a much deeper position right in front of the defence to break down the Juventus attack which in all honesty he carried out fairly well. His aggressive approach rendered many of the Bianconeri attacks useless. However, after United conceded the goal his performance dropped off.
Nemanja Matic - 5.5/10
A foul on Paulo Dybala earned him an early booking which restricted him for the rest of the game. Matic displayed a mix of hot and cold performance throughout the game with most of them being cold. The 2018/19 season hasn't really kicked off for the Serbian.
Paul Pogba - 5/10
It was a return to the Allianz Stadium where Pogba turned into a footballing megastar several years ago. The Frenchman took a very advanced role from the beginning and was trying really hard to create something but lost his composure in the process giving away the ball far more often. Often caught out of position, he failed to provide cover for his teammates. Not a happy return for the Frenchman.
Jesse Lingard - 5.5/10
Apart from wasting an early chance on the counter, there weren't any significant highlights from his game. The Englishman looked out of touch for the majority of the play and had a very quiet outing.
Alexis Sanchez - 6/10
The Chilean worked hard throughout but failed to make any significant impact in the match. In the absence of Lukaku, Sanchez was handed the central helm of United's attack. He should have relished his opportunity but was contained by the defensive duo of Bonucci and Chiellini.
Anthony Martial - 7.5/10
The man in form, Anthony Martial was arguably the best United player on the pitch. He looked lively from the beginning in the attack along with a commendable defensive performance. It was a composed, organised display from the Frenchman.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford - 6/10
Brought a second wind to United's attack with his pace and energy.
Juan Mata - 7.5/10
Came on, stepped up to the freekick, beautifully curled it over the Juventus wall into the back of the net.
Marouane Fellaini - 6.5/10
He was brought on to create disruption in an otherwise organised Juventus defence and he did exactly that.