Manchester United are in Turin, where they will face Juventus on Wednesday night. The match itself could prove decisive for the top spot in Group H, as Juventus will secure it win another win over Red Devils. However, if Manchester United come out on top, the race for the first place and possibly easier draw in the Round of 16 next spring will be wide open.
Jose Mourinho’s team travelled to Italy and they will be far from favourites in this match. Juventus opened their season with 14 wins and a single draw in their 15 matches so far and they are still to concede in Champions League. Therefore, Manchester United will need to do many things well if they are to win this European classic. Here is what we would like to see from Man United players.
Unsettling Juventus’ Defence
Yes, that is definitely much harder to do than it sounds. However, Man United truly failed to properly unsettle Juventus’ defence at Old Trafford. There were no real spells where Devils had genuine chances to score and in the opening half especially, it was the Italian champions who controlled the match with ease.
And yet, if United are to do anything here, they must try and unsettle them. How? Juventus are expected to be attacking-minded at their own turf and try to score timely goals before returning to their pragmatic ways. After all, 1-0 works perfectly well for them, as we have already seen. But before they even score, they might offer some more space for Man United players and if they are incisive, precise and if they play with confidence, then Man United could harm them. We have seen against Chelsea that this team can play.
Also, Juventus’ back four truly is amazing, but is not the fastest, and in certain situations that might be exposed, if United are presented with space for Rashford, Martial or Sanchez.
Repeat Of 1999
As much as it would be amazing for Man United to win the Champions League as they did in 1999, that is not our point here. Rather, it is the second leg of the semifinals of that year that we are talking about. Manchester United won 3-2 away at Stadio Delle Alpi, which saw they progress to the final in Barcelona.
Repeat of 1999 in this case would be a big European night in which United would make a huge, if somewhat unexpected win, that would show them just how good they could become with some improvements and consistent performances.
Paul Pogba’s Winning Mentality
This man – we often talk about him. Sometimes deservedly, sometimes not. But this time we would like to see the winning mentality of Paul Pogba, the way he will pull this team forward on his return to Juventus Arena. He will be warmly welcomed, but we are looking forward to his performance, his attitude on the pitch and how much he will bring to the character of Man United’s overall performance, These are the occasions where he could show all the potential to become a world class player everyone expects him to be.
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