A magic intervention by David de Gea and a shot by Marouane Fellaini in injury time was enough for Manchester United to win over Young Boys 1-0 at Old Trafford and advance to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The 'Red Devils' needed to win and needed Juventus to do them a favour by defeating Valencia. Both their wishes were fulfilled, reports Efe news.
Only Rashford and De Gea were highlights of a team on Tuesday that showed how far from 'Champions' they are each day.
But even on such a horrible night, Fellaini's shone bright and during extra time. He lowered a ball on his back, striking it and sealing a three-point victory for the English, giving them a pass to the knockout phase.
With almost no time to tie their boots, the Swiss players faced the first dangerous counter commanded by Rashford. The English striker appeared in front of the Young Boys goalkeeper but his shot went over the crossbar, causing Mourinho to shake his head from the bench in disbelief.
In the 25th minute, a shot by Rashford from outside the area went astray, just grazing the right post of Von Ballmoos. His plays continued to create chances to score yet they lacked accuracy.
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Mourinho decided to leave Lukaku on the bench until well into the second half. Even with Pogba and Lukaku in the game, nothing much changed. In the 72nd minute De Gea made an athletic save of a shot from Garcia that slipped on the goal line.
The time kept running while the Red Devils did not. The sad image of the Old Trafford crowd leaving the stadium with three minutes left in the game did justice to a team losing in the field.
But Manchester United still had luck. The Belgian Fellaini dropped the ball on his back, made room, shot and finally made the only goal of the game, which was enough for Manchester United to advance to the next round.
--IANS
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