Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Cristiano Ronaldo gave Manchester United the same kind of edge NBA great Michael Jordan gave the Chicago Bulls after the Portugal forward’s double earned them a 2-2 draw at Atalanta in the Champions League.
Ronaldo’s first brought United level on the stroke of half-time on Tuesday before he fired a stoppage-time equaliser to send United joint top of Group F with Villarreal.
The 36-year-old also scored in comeback victories at home against Villarreal and Atalanta, and despite United’s critics claiming Ronaldo is papering over the cracks at the club with his individual brilliance, Solskjaer compared his impact to that of six-time NBA champion Jordan.
“We all have our roles and responsibilities,” Solskjaer told reporters. “Of course Cristiano is a leader in the group but that’s what he does, he scores goals.
“We’re not happy conceding two goals – but he does provide those moments and I’m sure the Chicago Bulls didn’t mind having Michael Jordan either.
“Sometimes teams have the players they have and that’s why they are Manchester United, that’s why they are champions at the Chicago Bulls. You just come up with those moments.”
Ronaldo, who returned to the club in the summer, has scored nine goals in all competitions this season, five of those in the Champions League.
“For me, Cristiano is getting better and better for us. He’s feeling better,” Solskjaer added. “You know he’s not had a proper pre-season, now he is getting better and better and he’s feeling up to speed now.”
Varane injury ‘doesn’t look good’
Despite just returning from injury, summer signing Raphael Varane was forced off before half-time with a hamstring strain in Bergamo.
United have struggled without the France international defender this season, and Solskjaer says the early signs aren’t good.
“First look at it, is he felt his hamstring. We have to look at him tomorrow. But he felt his hamstring as he ran tightening up. So he didn’t want to risk anything. First assessment doesn’t look good but we’ll assess him again tomorrow and fingers crossed.”
‘I commit a crime every time I pick a team’
Solskjaer kept the back five that brought him success in the 3-0 win at Spurs on Saturday, but brought in Marcus Rashford for Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba in for Fred, with summer signing Jadon Sancho starting on the bench for the eighth time in the last 10 games in all competitions.
But the Norwegian defended his decisions, saying there will always be big names left out.
“I commit a crime every time I pick a team because there are always players that get left out. At Tottenham, we went with a different system. Today it was still a different system with a back five.
“Jadon [Sancho] will come good. Jadon has got a great work rate and attitude and quality. I thought he was really sharp when he came on.
- SkySportsNews
