Cristiano Ronaldo has found himself in the history books once more after getting on the scoresheet in Manchester United's win over Villarreal on Tuesday night. The 36-year-old Portuguese superstar was gifted a massive goal after a defensive mistake by the host, inspiring the Red Devils to progress to the knockout stage from their group with a game to spare.
It was a relatively slow start for the Old Trafford outfit who began a new era following the departure of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They approached the game knowing that a win would be enough to take them through to the next round but had to deal with the numerous attacking threats posed by the host. After the drab first half performance, a pair of second half substitutions galvanized the Reds and set the tone for them to break the deadlock.
Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes who replaced Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek provided different options for the visitors in attack. However, the it was the intervention of 'Lady Luck' that made the difference for United, as Ronaldo reacted quickly to lift a ball past goalkeeper Rulli whose attempt to start out the play from the back had back-fired. Watch the goal below:
Ronaldo is inevitable. #UCL pic.twitter.com/wt2eyY2mvu
— BT Sport (@btsport) November 23, 2021
Subsequently, Jadon Sancho, who had been promising throughout the game sealed off the win by finding the back of the net with his first goal the season since arriving at his new club from Borussia Dortmund this summer. With the result, Manchester United booked a spot at the Round of 16 stage while they prepare for the final group encounter with Young Boys.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo's strike made him the first ever player to score in each of an English club's first five matches of a single European Cup or Champions League season - excluding qualifiers. The Portuguese superstar ranks as United's top goalscorer in the competition with six goals in five appearances. He is now just a goal away from reaching 800 career goals for both club and country.
