CR7 papers over Man Utd’s cracks
MANCHESTER: Cristiano Ronaldo’s record 178th Champions League game had been one of his quietest for 94 minutes until the ball broke kindly for him to break Villarreal hearts at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Manchester United’s returning hero rode to the rescue just in time to salvage a 2-1 win from another performance which cast more doubt over where the Red Devils are headed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian badly needed three points after a run of three defeats in four games and got it with seconds to spare. However, Solskjaer conceded United had “got lucky” and were “saved” by goalkeeper David de Gea as Villarreal enjoyed the overwhelming majority of the chances.
The difference between the sides was in who was on the end of those opportunities.
De Gea denied Arnaut Danjuma, Paco Alcacer, Moi Gomez and Boulaye Dia either side of Alcacer’s deserved opener for the visitors on 53 minutes. Alex Telles’ spectacular strike from distance quickly restored parity, but it was not for another half an hour that the all-time top goalscorer in the Champions League took centre stage. “Cristiano Ronaldo only got one chance and, well, he’s Cristiano Ronaldo,” said Villarreal defender Juan Foyth, who had kept United’s most expensive summer signing Jadon Sancho quiet all night.
Sancho and Raphael Varane’s arrival in the transfer window had already raised expectations at United this season before Ronaldo’s stunning second coming in Manchester. In Ronaldo’s five games since returning to the club, he’s scored five times. But he has also already been on the losing side twice and twice more United have needed late winners to dig themselves out of trouble. A 2-1 defeat to Swiss champions Young Boys on matchday one left the English giants facing another embarrassing early Champions League exit had they failed to win. “I made history in this club, and I want to do it again,” said Ronaldo, who won his first of five Champions League titles during at United between 2003 and 2009. “If we hadn’t got three points today it would have been tough to get through to the next stage.” Results: Benfica 3-0 Barcelona, Bayern Munich 5-0 Dynamo Kyiv, Atalanta 1-0 Young Boys, Manchester United 2-1 Villarreal, RB Salzburg 2-1 Lille, Wolfsburg 1-1 Sevilla, Zenit St Petersburg
4-0 Malmo, Juventus 1-0
Chelsea.