How did Ronaldo perform on his Champions League debut?
Martin Macdonald
- 14 Sept 2021 19:42 BST
- 3 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in the summer in what proved to be one of the most sensational deals of the transfer window.
This past weekend, he made his second Premier League debut for the club, having previously featured for the Red Devils between 2003 and 2009.
The Portuguese superstar could not have wished for a better return, as he scored two in a 4-1 Manchester United victory versus Newcastle at Old Trafford.
A few days later, he would make his first European appearance of the season, and he marked that by getting on the scoresheet, too.
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How did Ronaldo play?
Like at the weekend, Ronaldo looked sharp from the get-go against Young Boys, and unusually like him these days, appeared keen to get involved in some build-up play rather than just waiting for chances in the final third.
It took him just 13 minutes to score his first Champions League goal in his second spell with Man Utd, as he latched on to an absolutely fabulous cross from Bruno Fernandes to squeeze a finish home at the front post.
In total, Ronaldo had two shots on target in the game, but he failed to complete a single dribble.
CRISTIANOOOOOOO 🤩
He's at it again!#MUFC | #UCL— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 14, 2021
He attempted 20 passes for an accuracy rating of 85%.
All in all, Ronaldo struggled to make an impact in the game after the red card to Aaron Wan-Bissaka which put Man Utd on the back foot. Though United had their moments, Ronaldo cut an isolated figure up top, as one of his providers, Jadon Sancho, was taken off shortly after the red card.
Ronaldo won't be used to it, but he was substituted in the second half with the game at 1-1.
Young Boys 2-1 Man Utd
Man Utd were in a superb position to claim all three points after taking an early lead, but they completed changed their style after going down to 10 men, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer acted quickly to get Sancho off for another defender.
Paul Pogba did what he could to control things, but overall Man Utd struggled to pose an attacking threat as the game went on.
Eventually, in the second half, the defence was caught stationary as Nicolas Ngamaleu drifted in at the front post to knee a finish into the corner past David de Gea.
The Swiss outfit pressed on into the latter stages and scored a dramatic, late winner when Jesse Lingard sent a horrendous back pass to De Gea which was intercepted by Theoson-Jordan Siebatcheu to score, making it 2-1.
