Manchester United vs Juventus: Jose Mourinho walks to Old Trafford after team bus delay
Football
By
Mirror
| Oct 23, 2018
Jose Mourinho walked half a mile to Old Trafford after the Manchester United team bus got caught in traffic again ahead of the Champions League.
Mourinho and his backroom team left the coach after becoming frustrated with the gridlocked traffic around Old Trafford, leaving his squad of players to battle their way through the chaos.
There were unconfirmed reports that Mourinho tried to get the players off the bus to join him in walking to Old Trafford, but was persuaded otherwise, leaving him to make the journey with his coaching staff.
The Red Devils were charged and fined by UEFA over the late kick-off of their last group game against Valencia.
In response, United changed hotels from The Lowry to The Hilton Garden Inn, which is just 800 yards away for Old Trafford.
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But despite the convenient location of the new hotel, the Manchester United players are late for their clash with Juventus due to heavy traffic in the area.
The city centre is currently grid-locked ahead of the tie, which sees Cristiano Ronaldo return to Manchester for the second time, following his departure in 2009.
The delays have been made worse by the roadworks on major routes in the area.
Mourinho's men didn't arrive at Old Trafford until 7:15pm for the Valencia game, just 45 minutes before kick-off due to traffic congestion.
The start of the match was subsequently pushed back.
United claim they left their usual team hotel at the Lowry, which is around two miles from Old Trafford, at around 6pm but were held up.
They took no chances for the Juventus game, moving to a closer hotel, but have incurred the same problem en route to the ground.
Speaking to BT Sport upon his arrival to Old Trafford, Mourinho said: "We changed hotels, to just across the road but the boys are in the bus for 45 minutes.
"I walked to the ground in a hoody through the fans and nobody recognised me. It took me 2 minutes to walk, what it took the team 45 minutes in a bus."
"But Juventus is having the same kind of problem. I have informed the UEFA delegate about the situation because he don't want to be punished again."