Father Time is beginning to catch up with Cristiano Ronaldo and was evident in Manchester United 's 1-0 Europa League defeat against Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
That's an opinion held by former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol, who believes that Ronaldo 'looked every one of his years' as United began their latest European adventure with defeat. Brais Mendez's second-half strike proved the difference between the two sides as the Red Devils' four-match winning run came to an abrupt end at Old Trafford.
Neither side could break the deadlock in an even first half, although Ronaldo did see a thumping header ruled out for offside. This was before Mendez fired Sociedad into a 58th minute lead from the spot after Lisandro Martinez was judged to have handled a strike in the penalty area. United made changes in a bid to try and find an equaliser, but they were unable to muster up a response to salvage their recent up-turn in form.
