Ronaldo Saves Man Utd Again, Sets New Champions League Dominance Mark
Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo, continues to dominate in European competition setting a new benchmark for English clubs in the Champions League as he once more came to Manchester United’s rescue in the tournament on Tuesday night.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was on hand to net an opportune lofted strike over the head of Geronimo Rulli after a glaring error from the Villarreal keeper. The goal broke the deadlock at 1-0 and leaves the Reds safely qualified for the knock-out phase with Jadon Sancho joining Ronaldo on the scoresheet.
United went into Tuesday’s game knowing that, despite their woes domestically, a draw would be good enough to seal passage to the Champions League last 16. That is largely down to Ronaldo, who netted in all four of their opening games, including late winners against both Villarreal and Atalanta at Old Trafford.
With just over 10 minutes to go the ex-Real Madrid and Juventus star struck again. After Rulli’s sloppy pass out from the back was intercepted and fell his way, Ronaldo sent the ball back over the Argentine keeper and into the net, finally getting United on the scoresheet after a tense evening in Spain.
Statistics indicate that the veteran striker (Ronaldo) is the first-ever player to score in each of an English club’s first five matches of a single European Cup/Champions League season (excluding qualifiers). It is his sixth goal in this year’s tournament and the fifth consecutive match in which he has found the net.
The bigger picture
Cristiano’s strike put United firmly on top, and they doubled their advantage just before the end through Sancho. Now, they sit first in Group F, three points clear of Villarreal and four ahead of Atalanta, who drew 3-3 later in the night against Young Boys.
The Red Devils’ European exploits have proved a welcome distraction from the toils of the Premier League, which forced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer out of his job at the weekend after the club fell to Watford 4-1.
Ronaldo has also struggled to repeat his Champions League form domestically, scoring four times in nine games since returning to Old Trafford and just once in his last seven outings, a run in which United have fallen to five defeats and won just once. – With Goal.com reports
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | PTS | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 10 | W D W W L | |
| 2 |  | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 7 | L W W L D | |
| 3 |  | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 6 | D D L W D | |
| 4 |  | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 4 | D L L L W |
