Ron means battle for Euro crown isn’t open, says Ole

OLE Gunnar Solskjaer believes as long as Cristiano Ronaldo is still in contention, the Champions League cannot be considered to be an ‘open’ tournament.

The former Reds ace scored a decisive hat-trick to overturn Juventus’s 2-0 first leg deficit this week.

Five-time Champions League winner Ronaldo will now face Ajax in the last eight. Should Juve overcome Ajax, they will face City or Tottenham in the semi-finals.

Juventus and United beat each other in the group stage and could be reunited in the Madrid final on June 1, provided the Reds beat Barcelona in the quarter-finals and then triumph over Porto or Liverpool in the last four. Despite the presence of Barca and City, it was Ronaldo whom Solskjaer named when it was suggested the Champions League was more open without PSG, holders Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

“There’s still top, top quality,” Solskjaer said. “Of course, with Cristiano still in it I don’t think it’s opened up that much!

“It goes in cycles. Porto won it in 2004, Monaco got to the final, Ajax... you never know. On any given day any team can beat anyone of them eight.”

Roberto di Matteo guided Chelsea to an FA Cup and Champions League double as interim manager in 2012 and Solskjaer was asked whether he welcomed the comparison.

“I would love to have one of them,” he said.