Football Champions League Champions League Sanchez gives Man United options at Juventus Manchester United travels to Juventus for another date with former favourite son Cristiano Ronaldo, two weeks after it was outplayed during a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford. AFP 07 November, 2018 00:21 IST Alexis Sanchez, who has endured a torrid start to his Manchester United career, put on an impressive display in United's match against Bournemouth on Sunday. - Reuters AFP 07 November, 2018 00:21 IST Alexis Sanchez has endured a torrid start to his Manchester United career but hinted at better things to come with an impressive display in a central role ahead of the Champions League match against Juventus.The injured Romelu Lukaku missed the 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday and Marcus Rashford started on the bench as Jose Mourinho opted for a three-man forward line, with Anthony Martial and Juan Mata deployed either side of Sanchez.The former Arsenal man was instrumental in United's first-half equaliser, setting up Martial, and will be disappointed to have been substituted towards the end of the game. The match, won by substitute Rashford in injury time, was a rare high point for the Chile international, who has struggled to find his feet since arriving at Old Trafford in January - it was his first league start since September 22.READ | Lukaku misses United training ahead of Juventus clashFollowing the much-needed win against Bournemouth, Mourinho praised Sanchez and spelt out his preferred system, saying he did not need a traditional centre-forward to lead his attack.“The way I like to play is with three attacking players where there is not a clear definition of the winger as a winger,” he said, adding that he likes wide men with a striker's appetite.“And I always had that in my team, with the wingers scoring a lot of goals, sometimes even more goals than the striker,” he said.“So it's not impossible at all to have in the same team at the same time Rashford, Lukaku, Alexis for example. But today Romelu was not available and we thought that Alexis could do what he did. What he did, he had a good assist, he had some mobility, he created some problems but then in the second half I knew that by having the two brothers on the bench, Rashford and (Jesse) Lingard, I knew that the brothers could come in and also make an impact.”ALSO READ | Juventus must respect Manchester United - Pjanic Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku is unlikely to face Juventus in the Champions League after missing training for Manchester United on Tuesday. - Getty Images Ronaldo challengeUnited now travels to Juventus for another date with former favourite son Cristiano Ronaldo, two weeks after it was outplayed during a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford that left it five points adrift of the Italian champion in Group H.Despite Mourinho's stated preference for a multi-dimensional attack, United will miss Lukaku. The Belgium international, who has not found the net for the club since mid-September, is not the only United forward who has gone off the boil, with Rashford also struggling despite his goal at the weekend.Martial's goals have been papering over the cracks during United's recent mini-recovery, with the Frenchman earning the manager's trust at last.ALSO READ | Van Gaal did better job than Mourinho, says former Man United player MuhrenFormer United defender Rio Ferdinand believes Rashford should be given a run in the starting line-up, even though he said it is not clear what his best position is yet.“You look at Lukaku. Lukaku's goalscoring record is up there, it's fantastic, he scores goals,” Ferdinand added. “But in the best teams you need more than that.“You need to be able to bring other people into play, you need to be able to complement other players in your team, things have to be set up off you.“At the moment, I see in a Man Utd shirt that some things break down in Lukaku. And that affects other players in the team, like (Paul) Pogba and Lingard, who want to play off people.” Subscribe to our daily newsletter Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE Please enter a valid email address. Dugout videos
Champions League Manchester United Juventus Jose Mourinho Alexis Sanchez Romelu Lukaku Anthony Martial Cristiano Ronaldo Marcus Rashford Bournemouth