Juventus edge Manchester United in Ronaldo's Old Trafford homecoming

Paulo Dybala’s lone goal at 17 minutes was all Juventus needed to earn three points Tuesday against Manchester United in Cristiano Ronaldo’s much-anticipated return to Old Trafford.

Paul Pogba had the hosts’ best chance to salvage a draw but his 75th-minute strike from outside the box careened off the inside of the post before bouncing off Wojciech Szczesny’s face and out for a throw-in.

Dybala featured alongside Ronaldo and Juan Cuadrado in Juventus’ front-three. He opened the scoring after his run into United’s penalty area was left unchecked, allowing him to comfortably bury his effort past David De Gea following a redirected Ronaldo cross.

The goal was Dybala’s fourth in the competition after the Argentine attacker netted a hat-trick against Swiss outfit Young Boys on Matchday 2.

Ronaldo, meanwhile, was making his return to his old stomping grounds for just the second time since leaving the Red Devils for Real Madrid in 2009. The Portuguese superstar nearly had a goal of his own in the second half, though he was thwarted by a stellar diving stop by De Gea.

Juventus commanded the first half, striking four attempts on target compared to United’s one while retaining 70 percent possession. Jose Mourinho’s side fared much better in the latter 45 minutes, but couldn’t find an equalizer despite taking five shots.

The victory leaves the Bianconeri far and away the top side in Group H with nine points – five above United who remain in second. Valencia (two points) and Young Boys (one point) sit third and fourth, respectively, following their 1-1 draw.

In his last visit to Old Trafford in 2013, Ronaldo scored the winning goal in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over United in the round of 16, helping Los Blancos progress 3-2 on aggregate and knocking the Red Devils out of the Champions League. Madrid were then eliminated by eventual runners-up Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate in the semifinals.