Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he is ‘standing together’ with Manchester United following his goalscoring return to the Red Devils’ starting line-up.
The Portuguese was welcomed back into the United team on Thursday evening by Erik ten Hag having missed out on the weekend’s game against Chelsea. He was left out of the squad having stormed down the tunnel in the recent victory against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford and also refused to be introduced as a substitute.
Despite that, Ronaldo picked up exactly where he left off in the Europa League tie with Sheriff having once again got on the scoresheet.
Having initially had a header saved by visiting goalkeeper Maksym Koval, the veteran forward reacted quickest to the rebound and powered the ball home for his third goal of the season in all competitions.
Taking to Twitter after United’s 3-0 victory, Ronaldo posted an image of himself using his new celebration with the caption: “Great team effort and a good victory. We stand together. Let’s go, United!”
Manager Ten Hag also gave his reaction to the forward finding the net after what was a tricky period in his career and is expecting more goals to come throughout the remainder of the campaign.
Should Ronaldo be included in the starting line-up against West Ham this weekend? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Speaking to BT Sport, the Dutchman said: “Great. He [Ronaldo] created. The team creates for him. We know he has the capabilities to finish and that will come. He needs a goal to get over a dead point, I will say. Then more goals will come, I am confident of that.”
Meanwhile, the former Ajax schemer highlighted how impressed he was with the 37-year-old for his endeavours to keep pushing for a goal during what initially looked to be a frustrating evening.
Speaking further in his press conference, Ten Hag said: “Yes, what you said, he kept going, the team kept going to put him in the right position.
"He kept going to put himself in the right position. He didn't give up. That's his whole career. That's why he's so good and he got the reward for it."
Ronaldo now sits on three goals from 13 appearances in all competitions and will be hoping to continue his new-found form over the next few weeks and heading into the World Cup. United take on West Ham United at Old Trafford this weekend, whilst they also face a key European showdown against Real Sociedad next week as they attempt to finish top of their Europa League group in order to avoid a potentially tricky playoff to reach the knockout round.
In the meantime, Ronaldo will be aiming to have an impact at the World Cup in Qatar with difficult group fixtures set to come against Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea.
