#3 United’s central defence played very well
United’s centre-backs Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof had a wonderful match as they negotiated successfully with numerous Juventus attacks. United defended deep as they knew that Juventus were a considerably better team and a draw would be a good result for them. However, it was not easy to deal with the likes of Ronaldo, Dybala and Cuadrado and both Smalling and Lindelof passed their litmus test.
Smalling put his body on the line on quite a few occasions and made a few vital blocks. Lindelof too, won some battles in the air and defended well in the set-pieces. De Gea made some vital saves too for United. However, their cause was helped by some wasteful shots by the Juventus players and Jose Mourinho would consider himself fortunate to come out with a victory.