EPL
What next for Manchester United after woeful showing against Valencia
Manchester United failed to leverage Juventus’ defeat to Young Boys, as they were thrashed by Valencia in the Champions League.
Juventus, who have already booked their place in the knockout stages of the competition, was surprisingly defeated by the Swiss side, giving the Red Devils a great chance to top their group.
However, Mourinho’s men couldn’t grab their opportunity as they were far from impressive throughout the game.
Having sealed his place in the knockout stages prior to Valencia’s game, Mourinho gave some fringe players the chance to lay claim for a place in the starting XI but none of them were invincible.
Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Fred, Eric Bailly and Andreas Pereira were named in the starting lineup by the Portuguese manager but the decision ended up being a regrettable one as all of the players couldn’t have any impact on the outcome of the game.
The Red Devils deservedly conceded the first goal of the night when Carlos Soler found the back of the net from a long range.
Phil Jones thought he played the ball out of danger, only for him to see the Valencia striker powered an unstoppable shot pass Sergio Romero.
The visitor hardly created any clear-cut chance to draw level with the La Liga outfits as they were unconvincing throughout the opening half.
The way with which Mourinho’s conceded the second goal was laughable. Phil Jones was at it again as he put the ball into his own net.
The England international had a game to forget against Valencia as his own-goal turned out to be the winning goal.
However, the Red Devils became more adventurous at the final third when Mourinho made some changes to the team.
In-form striker Marcus Rashford halve the scoreline when he rose up to nod home from Ashley Young’s fine cross.
Despite the resurgence in United’s attack, it wasn’t enough to see them salvage a point, neither, was it enough to see them move to the top of Group H.
What next for Mourinho’s men
Luckily, the defeat wasn’t enough to stop the Old Trafford outfits from progressing through to the knockout stages. Nonetheless, there’s more work for Mourinho going forward.
The Round of 16 draws would take place on Monday and Mourinho should be expecting to face a very strong opposition, no thanks to last night’s shambolic display.
The team are likely to face one of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Porto, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris St-German in the next round of the competition.
Hence, there is no room for uninspiring display as it might come back to hunt them in their quest for first Champions League glory since Ferguson’s retirement.
