Manchester United staged an inspiring comeback inside the Allianz Stadium to snatch an unlikely win in Wednesday's Champions League group-stage face-off with Juventus. The Red Devils, having held the host to a 0-0 scoreline in the first-half, were momentarily set on the path to defeat following Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning effort in the 65 minute.
The former student of Sir Alex Ferguson got on the end of Leonardo Bonucci's overhead pass and smashed in a half-volley inside the penalty area of his former side. Interestingly, the goal was the Portuguese forward's first-ever for Juventus in the European competition.
Nonetheless, a comeback was shortly instigated by Manchester United with substitute Juan Mata proving impactful. The former Chelsea star netted the game's equalizer via a free kick in the 86th minute.
With Juventus caught napping, Manchester United added another one as a result of an own-goal. A free-kick by Ashley in the 89th minute bounced off the heads of a handful of players in Juventus' penalty area before the ball finally deflected off left-back Alex Sandro.
Following Jose Mourinho's side's victory, the vintage sensation of the turnaround was validated with the records served up. Per the Champions League's books, it was the first time since the 1999 final against Bayern Munich that Manchester United bounced back to win a game with two goals in the final five minutes of a match.
In a related development, the Red Devils' manager, Jose Mourinho, apologized to the Juventus fans for the cupped-ear gesture he made while heading for the dugout at full-time. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia after the game, the Portuguese manager explained that his actions was as such because he felt threatened.
"I was insulted for 90 minutes. I came here to do my job, nothing more.
"I didn't offend anyone at the end, I just made a gesture that I wanted to hear them louder. I probably shouldn't have done it, and with a cool head I wouldn't have done it, but with my family insulted, including my Inter family, I reacted like this."
