Phil Jones gonna Phil Jones
Manchester United suffered a 2-1 away loss to Valencia this evening, as the already knocked-out LaLiga side dominated the largely meaningless group stage game.
Carlos Soler opened the scoring for the hosts, with a neat, powerful finish through a pack of bodies into the bottom corner. Celebrations were muted, with so little to play for, but it was a much needed boost for Valencia, who are struggling at home this season.
The second goal came courtesy of Phil Jones, who decided to poke the ball past Sergio Romero and into an empty net while chasing back, shoulder to shoulder with Michy Batshuayi.
A delicate through ball from Soler towards Batshuayi gave Jones no point but to make a challenge in an attempt to put the ball out of play. Unfortunately for the defender, he did not manage to direct it properly and put it straight into his own net.
If there was ever a passage of play to encapsulate Phil Jones’ career, it was this.
Oh dear… This is turning into a bit of a disaster for Man Utd 👀
A Phil Jones own goal from outside the box makes it 2-0 to Valencia… pic.twitter.com/Mm0PHRmq47
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2018
Manchester United pulled a goal back through Marcus Rashford late on, but it was not enough to salvage a point, thanks to Jones.
United missed out on the chance to pip Juventus to top spot in their group, as the Italian champions lost to Swiss side Young Boys 2-1.
Juventus now go through in first place, with United going through in second, and Valencia dropping into the Europa League.
