Juventus beat Manchester United 1 – 0 in the Champions League at Old Trafford in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
It was a game ripe with narrative. Juventus VS Manchester United, the most common Champions League matchup for both teams.
To enhance the rivalry, it was also Cristiano Ronaldo returning to the club where he made his name. The team he was facing are coached by none other than Jose Mourinho, his former real Madrid boss.
In truth, the game was rather uneventful and it was as comfortable and straightforward a 1 – 0 win as you’re likely to see for Juventus.
The vultures of traditional and social media have been waiting for Jose Mourinho to get sacked since the season started. Recent comebacks against Newcastle and Chelsea have bought the Manchester United manager some time. However, after failing to trouble Juventus, the angry mob is marching towards Jose’s hotel room once again.
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Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville came to Mourinho’s defence on the BBC’s football daily podcast.
“United are tenth in the Premier League,” he said.
“And you are not tenth in the Premier League if you are then going to go on and win the Champions League
“So I think there has to be some realism in terms of where United are at.
“It is disappointing, it is not something that I think the supporters will accept but sacking Jose Mourinho isn’t the answer.
“What will that achieve? Someone else will come in and they will have to work with this set of players.
“I actually think they have got to say: ‘Jose, we are going with you, we are sticking with you, you have to get us out of this, you have got to get us up to the top four, you have got to build confidence’.
“At the moment I don’t think we are at that point where it is crisis, it is panic.
“These players I think over the last three games have improved their performance levels.
“Tonight they came up against a side that was far superior.
“Go back to the Premier League at the weekend and I still think United have got the quality to get into the top four, I firmly believe that.
“But sacking Jose is not the answer.”Juventus are now 11/2 to win the Champions League, while Manchester United are 50/1.
