Juventus 1-2 Manchester United: 4 men who helped United earn 3 points

Manchester United travelled to Turin to face Juventus in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. United were second in the group, with 4 points from 3 games, where they had won 1, lost one and drawn one.

Incidentally, the one loss was against Juventus in the home leg at Old Trafford. United were buoyed by the comeback win against Bournemouth in the Premier League in the weekend and as such, had some long needed momentum going into this game.

Mourinho made two changes to the side that won in the weekend. He brought in Herrera in place of Fred to add some stability in the midfield and replaced Mata with the fit against Lingard. Much to everyone's amusement, the back four remained the same again.

United were in the back foot for most of the game, with Dybala and Khedira both hitting the woodwork, but the Red Devils did have moments of their own and had Juventus worried for some time in both halves. When Ronaldo scored in the 65th minute, he made things interesting.

Mourinho threw in Rashford, then Fellaini and Mata and the Spaniard drew United level in the 86th minute. Yet the drama was far from over. An Alex Sandro own goal in the 89th minute meant that the game ended 2-1 in the favour of Manchester United. A memorable away win on a night when United needed to come back from a goal down again and here are the 4 men, who stood up and earned 3 valuable points.

#4 Ashley Young

Juventus v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Group H

Ashley Young has rejuvenated himself time and time again, making the successful transition from Winger to Full Back. This season, as Luke Shaw has taken over the left back spot, Young was provided a chance to cover for injured Valencia as the right back and the Englishman has taken the offer with both hands.

In fact, he has also been captaining the team in Valencia's absence and has raised his standards to lead his team well. Against Juventus too, Young was stellar at the right back position.

Tasked with stopping Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps one of the hardest jobs in the world, Young was strong, agile and nimble, as he matched the Portuguese step for step for speed and read his trickery well. It was so frustrating for Ronaldo that he had to switch sides to be effective because Young did not allow him to flourish.

Apart from picking up the pieces in defence and helping his centre-backs out, Young also joined in the attack, sending in crosses and combining with Lingard and Pogba regularly. For Mata's goal, Young's decoy was quite important and the English wingback was directly responsible for the winner, sending in a deadly free kick that was directed in, unfortunately, by Sandro.

#3 Ander Herrera

If Ashley Young walked the team out as the official Skipper, Ander Herrera was the leader on the pitch. Perhaps every blade of grass in Turin was covered on the night by the Spaniard, who was selected ahead of Fred and must have done enough to start in the Manchester Derby in the weekend.

Herrera started the night in the midfield, alongside Pogba and Matic and brought a steel and solidity that United desperately need now. Even though Mourinho definitely put Herrera on with the intention of stifling out the Juventus midfield, Herrera regularly burst forward to put pressure on the Juventus defence.

Matic wore an assured look on the night, with Herrera doing the cleaning up alongside him in the middle. The Spaniard was clever in his selection of passes and paid just enough attention to Dybala on times to ensure that the Argentinean could not find the back of the net.

Herrera's intelligence was also evident in the game as he regularly transformed from attack to defence and freed up Pogba to try to influence the game from higher up. The Spaniard's wise use of space, fast movement of the ball and burst of energy in the middle was crucial for United to go into the 80th minute by just a goal down and still in contention for the game.

While the man who replaced him rightly took away all the accolades for a tremendous goal, Herrera, as usual, was brilliantly effective and set the stage for United to make a comeback

#2 David De Gea

The De Gea contract issue has been hogging the limelight for some time now, but on the field, the Spaniard has been focused as usual. He has been a tad unfortunate this season, playing behind a shaky defence that has cost him quite a few clean sheets. Against Juventus too, De Gea, could not secure a clean sheet, but he was the instigator of the comeback on the night.

While there was nothing that he could have done for the Ronaldo goal, De Gea was alert throughout the game, saving well from Pjanic in the 67th minute with the game poised at 0-0 and then saving again from the Bosnian Midfielder when the game was at 1-0.

But the pick of the save was in the 34th minute. Cuadrado burst into the right side and sent in a low drive into the box, which took a deflection off Matic and looked destined for the far post. But De Gea showed cat-like reflexes and kept it out. It was moments like this that kept United in the game and ensured that they were always within touching distance of Juve.

The Spaniard put up another stellar performance in the night and United should hold on to him with all their might.

#1 Juan Mata

It was the stuff of dreams for Mata. Imagine losing your place in the starting eleven and watching your team trailing from the bench. Imagine coming on in the 79th minute, with your team needing at least a goal and then standing over a free kick at the edge of the area, with the weight of expectations on your shoulders.

As he prepared to take the free kick, Mata knew he had to score. And it was a testament to his genius that the Spaniard did just that. The Ashley Young dummy had its effect, but Juan Mata's free-kick was both the cake and the cherry on top of it.

It was the moment of achieving the impossible, the sheer shock of securing an unexpected happening. The ball perfectly glided over the wall and into the top corner and sent Manchester United - fans and players alike, on a frenzy.

Mata provided the class, the perfect blend of poise that was required to break into this Juventus side. His goal gave his team the belief that they could go on and win the game and Manchester United did just that.

Edited by Sripad