Veteran Cristiano Ronaldo has crowned his return to the Manchester United squad with a goal.
In the 3-0 (1-0) win against Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday in the Europa League, the Portuguese, who was in the starting line-up of team manager Erik ten Hag, scored the final score (81st). Diego Dalot (44th) and Marcus Rashford (62nd) had previously put the Red Devils on the road to victory.
Since Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute in the duel with Tottenham Hotspur and left the interior of the stadium in the 88th minute, the 37-year-old was removed from the squad for the Premier League duel at Chelsea last Saturday.
He returned to team training on Tuesday. With the win, United now forced a “final” on the last matchday against Real Sociedad San Sebastian for a place in the round of 16.
Trio in round of 16, Arsenal lose
Belgium’s runners-up Union St. Gilloise, on the other hand, secured their ticket for the round of 16 early. Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin’s group opponents won 2-0 (2-0) at Malmö FF with goals from Teddy Teuma (10′) and Jean Lazare Amani (42′).
Betis Sevilla and Ferencvaros Budapest are also in the top 16 after just five matches. With a 1-0 (0-0) win at Ludogorez Razgrad from Bulgaria, the Spanish cup winners secured the group win, while Budapest handed in a 1-1 ( 0-1) against AS Monaco.
Premier League leaders Arsenal, on the other hand, failed to qualify early. Coach Mikel Arteta’s team lost 2-0 (0-0) at PSV Eindhoven. Former Gladbach professional Luuk de Jong set up Joey Veerman’s opening goal (56′), the Dutchman scored the second goal himself (63′). Eindhoven thus reduced the gap to Arsenal to two points.