The Warm-Up: Jose Mourinho's excuses fall flat as Juventus outclass Manchester United
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Updated 24/10/2018 at 07:14 GMT
Juventus enjoy an easy evening at Old Trafford - as Jose Mourinho gets his three fingers out again.
Manchester United's Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho awaits kick off
Image credit: Getty Images
WEDNESDAY'S BIG HEADLINES
Mourinho's moans don't stack up as United lose to Juventus
Undoubtedly the most surprising thing about Manchester United’s home defeat to Juventus in the Champions League was just how unsurprising it was. It was another evening which showed how hollowed out a once great club has become in the post-Fergie wasteland. Juve enjoyed as close as a routine 1-0 win you can get at a cathedral like Old Trafford.
The meeting of two of Europe’s grandest clubs was a chance to remember famous nights in 1999, when two genuine heavyweights produced timeless classics. Instead, this had the feel of an unbalanced FA Cup tie. Which was fitting, because after watching his side lose to a Paulo Dybala shot, the cross coming from Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho was speaking as if he was a lower-league manager.
We played against one of the biggest candidates to win the Champions League, and we did the best we could, especially in the second half.
We did the best we could
Asked if transfer investment could explain the evident gulf between the two sides, Mourinho added:
Yes, but it's not easy. Most of the quality players belong to top teams, so we work with what we have.
We work with what we have
Time for a swift injection of realism here. In the latest Deloitte money league, published in January, Manchester United were revealed to be the club with the highest revenue in world football, £676.3m across 2016-2017. Juventus were 10th, with £405.7m, well behind Europa League botherers Arsenal. If we look at total revenues since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the gulf is even more stark: since the start of 2013-14, according to Deloitte, United have generated £2.40bn in revenue, with Juventus generating £1.35bn.
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Manchester United's French midfielder Paul Pogba (L) vies with Juventus' Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic (R) during the Champions League group H football match between Manchester United and Juventus at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on
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In just four seasons, United have accrued over £1bn (ONE BILLION) more than Juventus. Mourinho’s attempts to depict United as some kind of plucky underdog are not just illogical, they are utterly laughable.
Vast amounts of revenue don’t necessarily mean a club is re-investing in its team though. And Mourinho was at pains to point out in his post-match address, one eye firmly trained on Ed Woodward, that Juventus are a club which never stands still in the transfer market.
To go to the Juventus level? Barcelona level? Real Madrid level? How can you reach that level? Manchester City level? How can you reach this level? Juventus is champions for seven years, I think seven years in a row. Two Champions League finals in the last four or five years and not happy with what they have. They want more, they want more. They had Higuain, Mandzukic, Dybala, they want more. They want Ronaldo. They had Barzagli, Chiellini, Rugani, they are not happy, they want more. They want Bonucci and they go for the best players in the world. So a big, big club with a big past, but with also a big desire to have a big future.
The message couldn’t have been clearer if he’d scrawled it across the front of Woodward’s mock-Tudor mansion in 10ft high white paint. So let’s look at that transfer spending, shall we? Again, since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, ushering in United’s prolonged and painful decline, the club are estimated to have spent in the region of €860.6m on new players. According to the same source, Transfermarkt, in the same period Juventus have spent €851.3m. Fractionally less.
What this clearly shows is that compared to Juventus, United are not reinvesting nearly as much of their revenue in the playing staff - and in Mourinho’s defence, Juventus have actually spent quite a bit more since he took charge. But over six seasons, United have still spent marginally more than the all-conquering Italians. It’s just that while Juventus have bought well, United have bought miserably. And the players United have bought have seemingly not been developed and coached in the optimum fashion. Their big summer signing, £50m Fred, didn't even make it off the bench last night.
Mourinho might have thought he was cutely positioning United as the underdog with his post-match comments, but that facade collapses quickly enough when you actually look at the evidence. Actually, what this 1-0 defeat represented was a triumph of management over mismanagement - on the training ground and in the boardroom. Again, this should hardly be a surprise.
City get back on track
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Shakhtar Donetsk-Manchester City: David Silva esulta dopo il gol del momentaneo 0-1 (Getty Images)
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Manchester City, who the United manager graciously placed in a class above that of his own club, finally took charge of their own Champions League group with a dominant 3-0 win away at Shakhtar Donetsk. City had 24 shots in total, with David Silva, Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva sending them top of a tight Group F with six points from three games, one clear of Lyon and four clear of both Hoffenheim and Shakhtar.
Pep Guardiola even said it was the best opening 45 minutes he had seen as City manager.
Our first half was the best first-half performance we have played in the last three seasons. We created a lot of chances and didn't conceded any until the last few minutes. We were under a lot of pressure after the defeat by Lyon but now we are in a good position. We can control our destiny now. We saw in the second half what Shakhtar Donetsk can do, but it's so important to get this result and we will enjoy tonight and in the next days this victory. We have recovered well from Lyon and now it's in our hands.
Lopetegui gets stay of execution (sort of)
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Marcelo, Benzema - Real Madrid-Viktoria Plzen - Champions League 2018/2019 - Getty Images
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No one needed a win last night more than Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui, who had crashed to a fourth defeat in five games at the weekend when losing 2-1 *at home* to *Levante*.
Well, Lopetegui got his victory. But it still might not be enough to save his skin as Madrid looked pretty unconvincing when seeing off Viktoria Plzen 2-1 at home.
Everything looked happy enough when Karim Benzema and Marcelo had Madrid 2-0 in front, but a reply from Patrik Hrosovsky led to a nervous finale, and Madrid fans were clearly unimpressed.
Last night's result doesn't really change much: on Sunday, Madrid head to Barcelona for the Clasico, which is the game which will really decide Lopetegui's fate. Best of luck, Julen.
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It's another packed night of Champions League action - with the highlights being Tottenham's trip to PSV Eindhoven, PSG's game against Napoli, Dortmund hosting Atletico Madrid, Liverpool welcoming Red Star to Anfield and Inter visiting Barcelona. You can follow all those big matches live on the site.
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