Champions League review: Man United malaise continues

Uninspiring display from United
The Manchester malaise continues unabated following the Red Devils’ 0-0 draw against visitors Valencia. Boos rained down from Old Trafford after the final whistle, the United fans clearly upset and frustrated with what was another uninspiring display from Jose Mourinho’s men.

Kickoff was delayed by five minutes because United’s team bus managed to get stuck in traffic on the way to Old Trafford. Once there, United didn’t manage to get out of first gear on the pitch, with the fans routinely chanting “attack, attack, attack” as the team simply went through the motions, with the exception of Marcus Rashford. It wasn’t until the final 30 minutes that United looked like it might score, with Romelu Lukaku having a curling effort turned away by Valencia goalkeeper Neto.

After a week that saw United lose to second-tier Derby County in the English League Cup and West Ham United in the Premier League, Mourinho was looking for a strong reaction from his players, but he didn’t get it, with Alexis Sanchez being the worst culprit – the Chilean hardly influenced maters before being subbed out.

Mourinho has now gone four consecutive home games in all competitions without a win for the first time in his managerial career. One wonders if this is the beginning of the end for the Portuguese manager.

Surprising results
Manchester United wasn’t the only heavyweight who struggled on Tuesday. Rivals Manchester City needed a late goal from David Silva to pull out a win over Hoffenheim in Germany. The Blues dominated proceedings with their trademark passing and possession game, but found it difficult to break down the Germans. The decisive breakthrough came when Silva picked the pocket of a Hoffenheim defender and then scored from in close, helping City to earn its first win of the group stage.

Everton loanee Nikola Vlasic took just 65 seconds to score, capitalizing on a disastrous pass by Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos to put CSKA out front. The Russians never looked back after that, as they looked to build upon their advantage, while at the same time expertly thwarting the Spaniards at every turn.

And what about Bayern Munich, who hosted Ajax? This had mismatch written all over out, but the Dutch grew in confidence after conceding an early goal and eventually equalized. After that, Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was called upon to make some crucial saves in order to allow the Germans to escape with a share of the points.

Dybala shines for Juve

It’s fair to say the Paulo Dybala has been overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo since the Portuguese’s arrival in Turin. At times, Dybala has looked out of sorts for Juventus, and far from his best.

But the Argentine reminded everybody why he’s still a vital figure for the Bianconeri, netting a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Swiss champions Young Boys. With Ronaldo suspended and watching from the stands, Dybala put on a show against the visitors, with his opener scored off a volley that ranks as the best goal of the day.

Dybala joined some pretty elite company, as he became just the fourth Juventus player to score a hat trick in the Champions League, after Filippo Inzaghi (two), Alessandro del Piero and Arturo Vidal.