Manchester United missed out on the chance to finish top of their Champions League group after a 2-1 defeat in Valencia, while Juventus lost at Young Boys.
Progress to the last 16 was already assured ahead of the trip to the Mestalla, yet this was a chance for Paul Pogba and Co to prove their worth and secure a win that would see them top Group H in the unlikely event that Juventus slipped up in Switzerland.
The improbable played out 650 miles away as Young Boys secured a remarkable 2-1 win against the Serie A behemoths but United failed to capitalise as they lost by the same scoreline in Spain, with Marcus Rashford grabbing a late consolation after Carlos Soler struck and Phil Jones turned into his own goal.
It was a largely lifeless, incoherent display from Mourinho's men and awful preparation for Sunday's trip to Premier League-leading rivals Liverpool.
Soler, once a reported United target, put Valencia ahead 17 minutes into a first half that saw Pogba - back after two games on the bench - somehow miss a gilt-edged chance, unaware that offside had been wrongly signalled.
Any hope of a comeback disappeared seconds into the second half as Jones turned into his own net on a night that heaps unwanted scrutiny on United ahead of the trip to Anfield, despite Rashford leading a late push.
While the forward may have rubber-stamped a starting berth against Liverpool, none of Mourinho's eight changes in Spain boosted their hopes after toiling against a side who lie 15th in the Spanish top flight.
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