Cristiano Ronaldo mustered one triumphant comeback for Manchester United on Saturday. Now he may eye another. His last Champions League game for them was also his valedictory outing. It felt the day the balance of power in Europe shifted away from United and, thus far, it has not turned back.
Strange as it sounds now, as Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona have a reputation as arguably the best club side in footballing history and a team who elevated the game to another level, but United entered the 2009 final as favourites for many.
They were the defending champions, boasting three consecutive Premier League titles and the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, in Ronaldo. Guardiola was three years old when Ferguson started managing, but Barcelona overwhelmed United.
Wayne Rooney has subsequently criticised Ferguson’s attacking tactics. “We might have got closer by playing defensively,” the Scot subsequently admitted. Michael Carrick recalled in his autobiography that: “The boss was understandably angry and had a go at everyone.”
It was a turning point. Ronaldo decamped to Real Madrid and United entered decline. Rooney recalled that United thought they had a chance against Barcelona in the 2009 final and none in the 2011 rematch. A gulf in class opened up without Ronaldo. United have gone a decade without a Champions League semi-final.
Ronaldo has won conquered Europe four times since then, more than United have in their history. Over nine seasons at Real Madrid, he scored more goals in the competition than his former club. When Juventus signed the Portuguese in 2018, it seemed a cheat code to win it. It did not succeed: indeed Juventus regressed with Ronaldo and his 14 Champions League goals in three seasons was one fewer than he managed in his final year with Real alone.
And now? Rewind three weeks and few were tipping United to reclaim the Champions League. After all, their elimination in the group stages last season felt embarrassing, when they undid the fine work of beating Paris Saint-Germain in France to fail to take the solitary point they needed from their final two games. It was compounded by their passive performance against Villarreal in the Europa League final.
Manchester United 4 Newcastle 1: player ratings
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MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea - 7: Not much to do in first half bar one easy save from deflected Ritchie shot. Parried away powerful Joelinton strike in second half. No chance with goal. AP -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 7: Gifted ball to Saint-Maxmin after half an hour that Frenchman failed to capitalise on but right-back did well 10 minutes later when holding same player who threatened to go through on goal. Getty -
Harry Maguire - 7: Weak header straight at Woodman from first-half corner. Up against a team without recognised centre-forward but kept on toes by runs of Almiron and Saint-Maximin. Getty -
Raphael Varane - 6: Beaten too easily by Joelinton run near start of game, then was given free header by Newcastle to almost open scoring with glancing header from corner. Solid game from Frenchman although was brushed off by Brazilian again in second half with De Gea coming to his rescue. Getty -
Luke Shaw - 7: Not his usual marauding attacking runs down left in opening 45 but then piled forward just before the hour to help set up Ronaldo’s second. AFP -
Nemanja Matic - 6: Important role at base of midfield with so many attacking options in front but passing radar not functioning particularly well here. Blazed one shot high into Stretford End and not the best of game's from the Serbian. AFP -
Paul Pogba - 7: United needed more from the French midfielder in first half as they struggled to break through the black and white defensive wall. Harsh booking for accidently standing on Longstaff’s ankle. Key role in fourth goal. Getty -
Mason Greenwood - 7: Moved into wider role due to Ronaldo’s arrival into team and it was his slightly deflected shot that resulted in Portuguese’s opener. Interesting to see how Greenwood’s role in team changes in coming weeks. Reuters -
Bruno Fernandes - 8: Not a bad attempt to catch out Woodman with shot from half-way line after 25 minutes and one superb cross into box that was crying out for a finish in first half. Sweet finish to make it 3-1. Getty -
Jadon Sancho - 6: Saw shot deflected wide after 30 minutes but – barring a few runs at the opposition defence - had little impact and clearly needs a run of games in team. Getty -
Cristiano Ronaldo - 8: Straight into starting line-up and into action with lovely footwork and shot into side netting after 10 minutes. Inevitable goal came in first-half injury time with close-range finish after Woodman fumble. Second followed in second half when he blasted through Woodman’s legs. AFP -
SUBS: Jesse Lingard – (On for Sancho 69’) 7: Curled home brilliant finish for fourth goal. Reuters -
Donny van de Beek – (On for Fernandes 84’) N/A. Getty -
Anthony Martial – (On for Greenwood 84’) N/A. Reuters -
NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Freddie Woodman - 5: Annoyed home fans very early on with perceived time-wasting and was given warning by referee. Should have done better with Greenwood’s shot that he spilled into Ronaldo’s path for opening goal and saw Portuguese’s strike go through legs for his second. AP -
Javier Manquillo - 7: Spanish right-back returned to starting XI and showed tremendous composure to score his first Newcastle goal. Getty -
Isaac Hayden - 6: Midfielder started match as part of Newcastle’s defensive back five that had done so well for 45 minutes until Ronaldo's opener. Couldn’t prevent the same player firing home his second and, like his defensive colleagues, tired in last 10. Getty -
Jamaal Lascelles - 7: Newcastle’s captain had been excellent marshalling the team and was clearly frustrated at conceding just before half-time whistle. Fine block on Lingard cross that was set to find a red shirt in the middle but failed to close down Fernandes before third goal. AP -
Ciaran Clark - 6: His slight deflection to Greenwood’s shot led to Ronaldo’s goal. Decent effort at the back for the Magpies until late goals took edge of what had been a determined defensive performance. PA -
Matt Ritchie - 7: Relentless workrate up and down the left but needed more help from Joelinton in front of him. Had deflected shot easily saved by De Gea 25 minutes in. Wasteful ball into middle just after half-time when well placed. Getty -
Sean Longstaff - 7: Nearly found himself through on goal in first half but lost his footing at crucial moment. This was Longstaff’s best performance for a long while, with the Geordie midfielder fighting for every ball from first whistle to last. Getty -
Joe Willock - 7: Left for dead by Ronaldo early on. Did well to catch out Fernandes in possession only to blast awful shot high and wide from tight angle just before half-hour. Prodigious workrate in midfield. AP -
Miguel Almiron - 8: Stole ball off toes of Pogba superbly in first half that set Newcastle off on rare attack then showed fantastic pace down right to leave Pogba in his wake. Brilliant run and ball into middle that led to Manquillo goal. Man of the match for the Magpies. PA -
Allan Saint-Maximin - 7: His usual mix of dangerous running at the defence and wasteful flicks handing possession to opposition. Teed-up Manquillo for Spaniard’s leveller. Getty -
Joelinton - 6: Forced way past Varane after seven minutes but skewed woeful shot wide. Failed to provide support for Ritchie defensively down Newcastle’s left. Showed great strength to hold off Varane again after 67 minutes but De Gea saved fierce strike. Getty -
SUBS: Jacob Murphy – (On for Manquillo 77’) N/A: Ambitious shot from well outside area hit straight at De Gea. Jamal Lewis – (On for Clark 84’) N/A Jeff Hendrick – (On for Willock 86’) N/A. Getty
United’s motivations are different to Juve’s. The celebration of Ronaldo that Saturday’s homecoming provided illustrated as much. But Ronaldo’s transformation from showpony to the most prolific scorer in footballing history was forged by demanding much of himself and others. “We need to build up the mentality to win the Premier League and even the Champions League,” he said on Saturday.
Perhaps mentality is an explanation of United’s pratfall-prone nature in Europe. Tuesday's game against Young Boys of Berne may revive memories of last autumn’s defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir. United have lost group games to Basel and PSV Eindhoven and Cluj and Galatasaray in between Ronaldo’s two spells at the club. His record total of goals in the competition is in part a product of his ability to prey on the relatively weak, but that could be a handy habit for United.
So, too, his capacity to score against all comers. Ronaldo played in all four goalless draws against Villarreal in his first stint at Old Trafford and the Europa League final was a sign they still struggle to break down the Yellow Submarines.
But Ronaldo scored 13 goals in 15 La Liga games against them. A return of three goals in five Serie A matches against Atalanta may be underwhelming by Ronaldo’s standards but while Villarreal are the top seeds in the pool and United second, Atlanta, the 2019-20 quarter-finalists, have more recent pedigree in the Champions League. That potential three-way battle makes victory in Berne imperative for United. Ronaldo will probably expect himself to deliver it.
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Manchester United’s Christiano Ronaldo training in Berne ahead of their Champions League game against Young Boys. AFP -
United’s Christiano Ronaldo with Juan Mata, left, midfielder Fred, second right, and Raphael Varane, right. AFP -
Left to right: Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard. AFP -
Christiano Ronaldo with Donny Van De Beek and Jesse Lingard. AFP -
Left to right: Raphael Varane, Juan Mata, Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Bailly. AFP -
Christiano Ronaldo during training. AFP -
Christiano Ronaldo at training. AFP -
United’s Ronaldo, centre, during training. AFP -
United’s Christiano Ronaldo at training. AFP -
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Jadon Sancho. AFP -
Christiano Ronaldo training with Manchester United. AFP -
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at training. AP -
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jadon Sancho. AFP -
United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Dalot. AP -
United's Juan Mata and Bruno Fernandes. AP -
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jadon Sancho. AFP -
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, second right. AP -
United's Cristiano Ronaldo passes a ball at training. AP -
United's Cristiano Ronaldo. Reuters -
United's Bruno Fernandes. Reuters -
Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, Juan Mata and Raphael Varane. Reuters -
Left to right: Fred, Eric Bailly, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba. AFP -
Manchester United's Harry Maguire. EPA -
Manchester United’s Christiano Ronaldo. AFP -
Manchester United players train at the Wankdorf Stadium. EPA -
United's Cristiano Ronaldo training with teammates. EPA
