Not for the first time, Marouane Fellaini came to the rescue for Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, with the Belgian lamppost securing a dramatic 1-0 win over Young Boys in the dying minutes.
The home side dominated the game without ever looking entirely convincing, with Marcus Rashford and Fellaini, among others, going close to opening the scoring.
Indeed, Mourinho was particularly unimpressed with one Rashford miss, a pantomime reaction which didn’t impress BT Sport pundit Gary Lineker.
“If I saw my manager react like that, I would be absolutely livid.”@GaryLineker gives his verdict on Jose Mourinho’s reaction to a Marcus Rashford miss… pic.twitter.com/AwtiIA3Krv
โ Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 27, 2018
Again, it was left to David De Gea to bail United out on several occasions, with a brilliant, scrambling goal-line save in the second half proving a particular highlight…
However, it would take until injury time for the deadlock to finally be broken, with Fellaini turning his defender and firing into the bottom corner from a Luke Shaw pass.
The goal understandably sent the Old Trafford faithful wild, with manager Jose Mourinho destroying an entire crate water bottles in the air in celebration in typically humble and understated fashion.
This from a man who, not too long ago, was chastising Antonio Conte for acting like a “clown on the touchline” for his overwrought reactions. Bit rich, really.
ICONIC REACTION ๐
Jose Mourinho after Marouane Fellaini’s late winner… pic.twitter.com/cz8n1ZHTB6
โ Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 27, 2018
Anyway, the narrow win saw United formally book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League alongside Group H leaders Juventus.
However, the manner of the victory once again highlights the problems and shortcomings which continue to plague a side chock full of talent that really should be able to blow away the likes of Young Boys on home soil.