VALENCIA, Spain (AFP) - Manchester United squandered the chance to win their Champions League group on Wednesday after a lacklustre display got what it deserved in a 2-1 defeat to Valencia.
Already through to the last 16, Jose Mourinho made eight changes at the Mestalla, including a return for Paul Pogba, but United were largely outplayed by their Spanish opponents, who sit 15th in La Liga.
Carlos Soler's driven shot and a Phil Jones own-goal put Valencia two up early in the second half before United came alive in the final minutes after Marcus Rashford's header gave them brief hope.
Perhaps Mourinho and his players had assumed Juventus would win away at Young Boys but the Italians' surprise 2-1 loss meant United had first place within their grasp.
Instead, they go through as runners-up into Monday's draw for the last 16, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Porto all potential opponents.
Porto would probably be the favoured pick but on this evidence, they might feel the same about United. After all, Valencia also made changes, eight of them, with their fate resigned to dropping into the Europa League.
They had failed to score in six of their last eight Champions League games while poor form in La Liga has their coach Marcelino fighting for his future.
After drawing against Sevilla last weekend, their fans swung white handkerchiefs in the air to demonstrate their dissatisfaction.
Pogba, left out against Arsenal and Fulham, started here but contributed little, save for a glaring miss in the first half. Eric Bailly also came in but his partnership with Jones was rocky all night.
United made Valencia look like world-beaters in the opening 45 minutes. They were slow in possession and just as sluggish out of it. Frustration bubbled and burst, as a handful of tackles flew in and missed.
Valencia were excellent. Geoffrey Kondogbia and Dani Parejo both went close early on before another pinball session in the penalty area saw the ball land at the feet of Soler. He looked up, picked his spot and drove into the far corner.
Michy Batshuayi should have made it two but headed over and Mouctar Diakhaby could have had a penalty when denied a simple finish by the clambering Marouane Fellaini.
United had the occasional opening, the best of them falling to Pogba, who somehow stabbed wide after Fellaini's header offered him a tap-in from two yards. The flag of the assistant referee spared his blushes but replays showed he was onside.
Jones marched off at half-time shaking his head, having berated his midfield for failing to track back, but the interval brought no relief.
Almost as soon as they restarted, Romelu Lukaku misread a Bailly pass. Just as others had before, Bailly threw his arms up in frustration.
Soon after it was two, Soler's pass landing between Sergio Romero and Jones, with Batshuayi on the chase. Jones panicked, met the ball on the slide, and pushed it past his approaching goalkeeper and into his own net.
There were 43 minutes left but a United comeback never looked likely until Rashford, on as a substitute, headed home in the 87th minute. Jesse Lingard had done well to keep the ball alive before Ashley Young supplied the cross.
Juan Mata could even have equalised. Pogba's scooped ball over the top left him alone in front of goal but he missed the ball as he tried to volley on the turn. A point would have been more than United deserved.
Wesley Michael Brown (born 13 October 1979) is an English professional footballer who last played as a defender for Indian club Kerala Blasters.. Brown began his career with Manchester United, joining the club's academy at the age of 12 in 1992.
Manchester United Wes Brown star to abandon South Africa tour
Bayern Munich showed all their Champions League experience and quality organisation as they held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their last 16 match at Anfield on Tuesday in a game of
The Fiji Times » Solid and smart Bayern hold Liverpool at Anfield
Football: Liverpool seal Christmas top spot as Salah and Van
Football: 'Spineless, shameful' PSG stars face fury at training, Balotelli hits winner against old club Nice
Football: 'Spineless, shameful' PSG stars face fury at
sportsloveme.com/soccer/football-spineless-shameful-psg-stars-face-fury-at-training-balotelli-hits-winner-against-old-club-nice/
Football: 'Spineless, shameful' PSG stars face fury at training, Balotelli hits winner against old club Nice 03/11/2019 FOOTBALL MAT , PARIS ST-GERMAIN PARIS (AFP) - Paris Saint-Germain players ran a gauntlet of hate and abuse after they invited 500 of their die-hard fans to witness a training session on Sunday (March 10), having earlier been
Football: 'Spineless, shameful' PSG stars face fury at
Football: Kean scores for Juventus despite racial abuse but Bonucci says forward partly to blame for inciting crowd Football News & Top Stories. Source by THEOFFICALZUKUS used under Creative Commons license.
Moise Kean: Raheem Sterling says Leonardo Bonucci racism
sportypoint.com/moise-kean-raheem-sterling-says-leonardo-bonucci-racism-comments-laughable/
Leonardo Bonucci's suggestion that Juventus team-mate Moise Kean was partly to blame for the racist abuse he received from Cagliari fans is laughable, says Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling. Kean, 19, spread his arms while facing the crowd after scoring Juve's second goal in Tuesday's Serie A win.
Kean subject to racist abuse, Juve teammate Bonucci says he
Football: Diehard Malaysian fans sell prized memorabilia to fund trip for AFF Suzuki Cup final against Vietnam HANOI (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Two die-hard Malaysian fans sold their prized Ultras Malaya memorabilia to fund their trip to Hanoi to watch the return leg of the AFF Suzuki Cup final between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Diehard fans sell their prized memorabilia to fund their trip
Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer joined Matt Busby in the Manchester United record books on Wednesday as his inspirational decision to bring on Romelu Lukaku as a substitute
Solskjaer extends perfect record as Man United beat Newcastle
Lucas Moura: From PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol. Tottenham's Brazilian forward Lucas celebrates the victory with teammates at the end of their Uefa Champions League semi-final second leg
Football: Lucas Moura, from PSG cast-off to Tottenham idol
Sacked Mourinho heading back to Madrid?, Football News & Top
Top 10 Dramatic Comebacks Of 2016 Top 10 Greatest Comebacks In Football History Hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBE Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed, please Subscribe Leave your opinion! Thank for the
'Serene' Quagliarella becomes Italy's oldest scorer at 36
Two quickfire first-half goals set Australia on their way to a 3-0 win over Palestine in their second Asian help Socceroos bounce back. point but are far from out of the knockout picture.
Socceroos bounce back at the Asian Cup with Palestine win
Singapore Air's New Cabins Take Luxury to Another Level Bloomberg The flag carrier on Thursday unveiled its first major overhaul across cabins of its Airbus SE A380s since 2007, when it became the first to fly the double-decker aircraft.
YNWA: How You'll Never Walk Alone became a Liverpool FC
At Monster, we're dedicated to making the job search process simple—and stress free. Our job search engine is built with powerful technology that aims to match the right job opportunities with the right people. To find the latest and most relevant job openings, simply browse by job title, company, city or state.
Top 18 Common Job Interview Questions and Answers - indeed.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment