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Ronaldo and De Gea to the rescue as Red Devils struggle under Ole
Manchester United's returning hero rode to the rescue just in time to salvage a 2-1 win from another performance which cast more doubt over where the Red Devils are headed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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Manchester United's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (2R) celebrates with Manchester United's Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea (R), Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder Fred (L) and Manchester United's Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani at the final whistle in the UEFA Champions league group F football match between Manchester United and Villarreal at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on September 29, 2021. (AFP/Anthony Devlin)
C
ristiano Ronaldo's record 178th Champions League game had been one of his quietest for 94 minutes until the ball broke kindly for him to break Villarreal hearts at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Manchester United's returning hero rode to the rescue just in time to salvage a 2-1 win from another performance which cast more doubt over where the Red Devils are headed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian badly needed three points after a run of three defeats in four games and got it with seconds to spare.
However, Solskjaer conceded United had "got lucky" and were "saved" by goalkeeper David de Gea as Villarreal enjoyed the overwhelming majority of the chances.
The difference between the sides was in who was on the end of those opportunities.
De Gea denied Arnaut Danjuma, Paco Alcacer, Moi Gomez and Boulaye Dia either side of Alcacer's deserved opener for the visitors on 53 minutes.
Alex Telles' spectacular strike from distance quickly restored parity, but it was not for another half an hour that the all-time top goalscorer in the Champions League took centre stage.
