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'Juventus master Old Trafford' - how the Italian press reacted to Juventus' win over Man Utd

'It was not respect, it was not surprise, it was fear'

 during the Group H match of the UEFA Champions League between Manchester United and Juventus at Old Trafford on October 23, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Image: Cristiano Ronaldo triumphed at Old Trafford

What did the Italian press make of Juventus' comfortable victory over Manchester United? We look at their back pages.

United were outclassed by the Serie A champions on Tuesday night, with Paulo Dybala's early goal enough to secure Juventus' third win from three in this season's Champions League, on Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford.

Here's how three major newspapers in Italy reacted on their back pages...

'Bellissima!'

There was no sitting on the fence from Tuttosport as they focused the attention of their readers on the word: "Bellissima!" which translates into English as "beautiful" in appreciation of what they perceived as a near-perfect away Champions League performance from the Italian giants.

The phrase "Juve padrona di Old Trafford" was also used on the front page, roughly translating into how Juventus 'mastered' United on their own patch.

They also hailed the performance of the dynamic front two of Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo as "irresistible".

Argentina international Dybala opened the scoring in the first half after some forceful and creative build-up play from the returning Ronaldo.

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"The three fingers of Mou"

The lead sports paper in Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport, took the same tone, declaring that Juve "dominated" and "triumphed" at Old Trafford.

It also reported that Jose Mourinho - for the second time this week - raised three fingers to the opposition fans.

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Jose Mourinho says it is tough to compete with a team like Juventus, and singled out Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci for their 'beautiful' performances.

"Le tre dita di mou," they wrote, which translates to "the three fingers of Mou".

This gesture towards the visiting fans could have been to remind them of the treble he won with Inter Milan in 2010.

"It was fear"

Juventus coach Max Allegri was lauded by Corriere dello Sport, and given the title: "Special Max."

Journalist Alberto Polverosi wrote about United's lacklustre performance, saying: "For half an hour Mourinho's team did not dare approach the Juventus area."

"It was not respect, it was not surprise, it was fear," he wrote when assessing reasons why United were so off the pace.

"We struggle to remember an Italian team that dominates in a stadium like Old Trafford," he added. "The certainty of a Juventus that scares Europe remains."

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