Mourinho's pragmatism reaping rewards for United

Accustomed to winning trophies with prolific scoring more than by cagey, safety-first displays, Manchester United fans may have to get used to Jose Mourinho's preferred strategy if a dour 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica is anything to go by.

The result left United on the verge of reaching the Champions League knockout stages and the Portuguese manager was happy.

"I never felt we could concede a goal and were solid defensively," he told BT Sport.

"Sometimes I feel being good defensively is a crime, but that is a way of getting results. We are one point from qualifying and one victory away from winning the group with two games at home to play."

Bereft of cutting edge up front or creativity in midfield without the injured Paul Pogba, United won thanks to a freak Marcus Rashford goal and a solid defensive display.

Still unbeaten in either the Champions League or in domestic competitions, United, who are two points behind local rivals City in the Premier League, are in position to challenge for their first league title since 2013.

Having netted four goals in wins over West Ham United, Swansea City, Everton, Burton Albion, CSKA Moscow and Crystal Palace, United's last two games against Liverpool and Benfica made those performances look like flat-track bullying.

Romelu Lukaku, the club's only out-and-out striker with Zlatan Ibrahimovic injured, made a dream start to his United career by scoring 11 goals in his first 10 games after arriving from Everton.

But the Belgian looked toothless in a dour 0-0 draw at Liverpool followed by the narrow win at Benfica.

Injuries to midfielders Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick have hampered Mourinho but his back line has held firm.

"Without any pressure, we knew the goal would arrive," Mourinho said after the Benfica game which was settled by a dreadful error by the Portuguese side's 18-year-old keeper.

"I knew how good the goalkeeper was, I told the players that. We had a little bit of a strategy, especially on set-pieces to make him uncomfortable. We put men around him on corners so he cannot come out," Mourinho said.

The wily Portuguese knows goals like Marcus Rashford's freak effort against 18-year old novice Mile Svilar, the youngest goalkeeper in Champions League history, will be difficult to come by against stronger rivals.

But with a rock-solid rearguard he also knows United will usually be in with a chance of winning those games.

Juve recover from bizarre own goal to snatch late win

Juventus hit back to snatch a late 2-1 win at home to Sporting after gifting the Portuguese side an early lead with a bizarre own goal by Alex Sandro in their Champions League match on Wednesday.

Four days after their two-year unbeaten home run was ended by Lazio, Juve were in more trouble when goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved at foot of Gelson Martins but the ball hit Alex Sandro and went straight into the net.

Miralem Pjanic levelled with a superb free kick in the 29th minute and, just as Sporting seemed set to frustrate the hosts, Mario Mandzukic scored the winner with a superb diving header in the 84th minute.

Juventus have six points from three games in Group D, three behind leaders Barcelona, while Sporting are on three.

"It was a tough game and an important win. Now, we have to start improving," said Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini. "We reacted well because this team has got personality."

Already fending off talk of a crisis after taking one point from their last two league games, Juventus got the worse possible start with a double mistake by Alex Sandro in the 12th minute.

The Brazilian first failed to cut out Bruno Fernandes' pass through the Juve defence, allowing Martins a clear run on goal. Buffon managed to block the ball at Martins' feet, only for it to hit Alex Sandro and ricochet into the net.

At that point, it looked as if Sporting might claim their first win in Italy at their 14th attempt but it turned out to be their only shot on target all evening.

Juve quickly regained control and, after several near misses, levelled in the 29th minute when Pjanic curled an exquisite free kick over the wall, leaving Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patricio rooted to the spot.

Sporting defended resolutely in the second half while at the other end, Bas Dost kept the Italians' defence occupied but without seriously troubling Buffon.

A draw seemed on the cards until Douglas Costa, who had just come on, whipped over a cross from the left and Mandzukic beat his marker to the ball to score with a diving header at the far post.

Sporting coach Jorge Jesus refused to throw in the towel. "We're still not out of it because we're perfectly capable of winning against Juventus in Lisbon," he said. "The result was unfavourable but we weren't inferior to Juventus."