JUVENTUS 1, MANCHESTER UNITED 2
Alex Sandro’s last minute own goal sealed a victory for Manchester United which had looked unlikely against a Juventus side who had hit the woodwork twice and were leading this game 1-0 until the 86th minute.
Had this been an Alex Ferguson side, you might not have been overly surprised at the Reds equalising through a Juan Mata free kick with four minutes to go.
Fans of a certain vintage might even recall other famous Fergie-time winners when Sandro put through his own net as the game went into the last minute under pressure.
Even Jose Mourinho, United’s current under-fire boss, could afford a rare smile afterwards as he cupped his ears at the baying Juventus fans who had just seen their side beaten after looking utterly dominant and getting a deserved goal.
Mourinho, himself a former treble-winning Inter Milan boss – recalled a three-fingered gesture at the end of the defeat at Old Trafford and had endured insults throughout the game from the home crowd.
The Portuguese could not resist a dig at the end of the game with Juve captain Giorgio Chiellini forcing the Reds boss off the pitch with the help of a United security detail.
It could have been so different for United, though, and for much of this game they were staring down the barrel of another embarrassing Champions League reverse.
Who else but Cristiano Ronaldo to score his first goal for The Old Lady but his 65th minute strike wasn’t enough to win it for the current Italian Serie A champions.
In truth Juve should have long been out of sight, with Sami Khedira hitting the post and Paulo Dybala’s curling effort coming off the crossbar with David De Gea beaten.
United had offered little until Ronaldo’s wonder strike – a volley from Leonardo Bonucci’s flighted ball forward – but that goal was soon forgotten after the Reds remembered that they could cook up some late drama themselves.
The stage is now set for a Sunday showdown in the derby. Manchester City may have scored twelve times in 2 games but United have come back to win from losing positions away from home in their last two games now and avoided defeat in their last three games.
And they’ll need to hope that their luck doesn’t run out against Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders.