Rio credits Messi for CR7’s late show
MANCHESTER. — Cristiano Ronaldo might have seen Lionel Messi take the headlines on Tuesday and wanted to step up on Wednesday, as he scored a late winner for Manchester United against Villarreal, at Old Trafford.
That’s according to his former teammate Rio Ferdinand, speaking after the Portuguese’s winner for United in the Champions League.
United were facing a 1-1 draw against Europa League champions Villarreal, until Ronaldo nodded a Fred cross down deep into stoppage time, and fired home from a tight angle after Jesse Lingard set him up.
The 2-1 win keeps United in the mix in their group after an opening defeat to Young Boys.
And Ronaldo’s former teammate Ferdinand says the forward relishes the opportunity to be the hero in the big moments.
“Unbelievable, this guy” he said on BT Sport after the game.
“United’s performance today wasn’t great. Wasn’t where Ole would have liked for sure, he’ll be the first to admit that.
“But when you need a goal, need a moment to galvanise the squad, the stadium, the fanbase, Cristiano Ronaldo steps up.
“He enjoys that responsibility, he wants to be that guy the chance falls to. His goal record says it all, he’s there for the big moments.
“Today, last minute at Man United has been written in the history books continuously for years and years. He’s a big part of that too.”
Ferdinand also spoke of the role Messi could have played in the goal, with the new Paris Saint-Germain player scoring a wonderful goal against Manchester City the night before to announce himself in Paris.
That will have only served as extra motivation for Ronaldo to produce a big moment of his own against Villarreal, Ferdinand said.
“You have to enjoy these players,” Ferdinand added.
“Messi scored last night, tonight Ronaldo said ‘I’m going to come back and score one.’ He nods it down, the finish, a bit fortunate but you’ve got to be there to make your luck.”
Fellow pundit Peter Crouch agreed that Ronaldo’s winner was no fluke, saying:
“He got his manager out of jail a little bit too. He was bought for the big moments, that was a big moment.
“You can tell by Soskjaer’s celebration is was a get out of jail free card. It fell to the right man, it was a good finish, but it fell to the right man. United didn’t play well today.
“It’s not just about luck. I was there at the Portugal game where he scored two against Ireland in the last minute. You’ve got to be there.
‘’He’s consistently scoring big goals like this when your team is under pressure. Don’t underestimate Jesse Lingard’s touch there, a fantastic presence of mind to bring him into it. What a player.”
United showed great spirit to turn a desperate performance around, with Alex Telles firing in the equaliser after Bruno Fernandes found him on the edge of the box from a corner.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side pushed for a winner and deep into the fabled ‘’Fergie Time’’ they found it through Ronaldo, as he blasted past the goalkeeper after Lin
gard cleverly flicked the ball into his path.
“This is why I come back,” he told BT Sport. “Because I missed this club a lot. I made history at this club and I want to do it again.
“I have to say thank you to all of them [the fans], not only for me, but to push the team which will be very important, especially this season.
“If we (did) not [get] three points today it will be tough to go through to the next stage but now everything is possible, everything is open and we believe we go through.” — Manchester Evening News.