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Man Utd vs Juventus: ‘About time’ - Rio Ferdinand praises big Jose Mourinho decision
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho named an unchanged team for the first time in 2018 against Juventus this evening - and that pleased Rio Ferdinand.
Manchester United welcomed Juventus to Old Trafford in a Champions League Group H clash.
The game came just three days after an enthralling 2-2 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League.
United came from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 at Stamford Bridge but conceded a stoppage time equaliser from Ross Barkley.
But Mourinho stuck with the same starting XI this evening - the last time he did that in any competition was in December 2017.
Man Utd vs Juventus LIVE: Champions League latest score
Every great team has consistency in picking the same players on a regular basis
And Ferdinand believes that is good news for Jose Mourinho's players who can start to build relationships on the pitch.
“Yeah about time,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport.
“Injuries, inconsistencies in terms of performance and what not.
“That’s probably been holding the manager back from doing that.
“But that’s when you begin to be able to form relationships on a pitch.
“Every great team has consistency in picking the same players on a regular basis.
“You can’t tell me that the back-two pairing that the form’s there, because they’re not the same people there all the time.
“You need to be able to see someone and say ‘that’s my man next to me’.
“All over the park that counts.
“So I’m happy to see that, it’s a good step in the right direction.”
Manchester United were without six players due to injury for tonight's match.
Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard and Phil Jones were amongst those missing.
Cristiano Ronaldo started for Juventus, with Mario Mandzukic missing through injury.