UEFA Champions League day 4
It was a great night of European football in Italy with two powerhouses of the game facing each other. Juventus and Manchester United produced an overall exciting performance for the return of Pogba to his former club. After winning at Manchester the last game, Juventus had all the confidence entering the tie at home.
The Bianconeri dominated the game and were rewarded a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo just minutes ayer the hour mark. But Man Utd were resilient and did not give up. The substitute Juan Mata leveled the game on a set piece. It was not over yet as Bonucci scored an own goal and complete a miraculous late comeback from Jose Mourinho’s men.
The Portuguese coach comments on this fantastic win for the club:
The game was a very good game, a high-level game. It doesn’t matter the end. The game was really top. I think we performed at a high level. After that goal, we had five minutes to wake up again but the team was there since the first minute until the last.”
On his gesture after the match: [see below]
“In a beautiful Italian way, they [the crowd] insulted me for 90 minutes. I didn’t insult them. I just made a little thing. I know the millions of Inter fans, they are really, really happy with that. But I respect Juventus, I respect their players, their manager, I respect everything, the quality they have. And I’m really, really proud of my boys because their performance was really good.”
It’s a big victory for us, not just because we need the points but because it’s against a fantastic team with an amazing record at home like Juventus.
We have a final now to play at home. We thought we were going to have two finals to play and now we have one final. And if we win that final against Young Boys, if my mathematics at the moment is right, then we qualify with a victory against Young Boys. So I think now I leave it to Old Trafford people.”
Juventus coach Allegri on the unexpected final result:
“It’s a shame. The team produced a good performance but we’re never able to put them to bed. There’s always a risk when you play against the top teams. We give away too many free-kicks in both wide and central areas.
That said, we’re still top. We have two games left that we can use to ensure we win the group and go through to the last 16. We need to pick ourselves up right away because we have a massive game in Milan on Sunday.”
We need to keep working. We made too many mistakes tonight. We played well, but tonight shows that good performances aren’t enough. You can’t always win in football and this was the least damaging game to lose.”
The game was a very good game, a high-level game. It doesn’t matter the end. The game was really top. I think we performed at a high level. After that goal, we had five minutes to wake up again but the team was there since the first minute until the last.”
