Manchester United finished second in their Europa League group despite the 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad in their final game of the stage; while they missed out on a direct qualification to the round-of-16, United will take part in a two-legged knockout round playoff. Spain-born teenager Alejandro Garnacho, who represents Argentina at the youth level, scored the only goal of the game – his first for the club.
Garnacho grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo and poetically, it was the Portuguese superstar who provided an assist for the youngster's first senior goal for Manchester United. The dream-like sequence didn't end for Garnacho there - following the goal, the 18-year-old footballer also went on to imitate Ronaldo's ‘sleeping celebration’ after receiving a hug from his idol.
Following the celebration, Ronaldo gave him a thumbs-up and a pat on the back.
Watch:
The past few weeks have been quite eventful for Cristiano Ronaldo; the forward was suspended for a match after Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag had revealed that Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham in a Premier League match. The incident preceded a long-lasting transfer saga in the summer where the Portuguese star was linked with various major clubs across Europe.
{{/usCountry}}The past few weeks have been quite eventful for Cristiano Ronaldo; the forward was suspended for a match after Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag had revealed that Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham in a Premier League match. The incident preceded a long-lasting transfer saga in the summer where the Portuguese star was linked with various major clubs across Europe.
{{/usCountry}}He made a return to the side in the Europa League match against Sheriff and scored the side's third goal in a 3-0 victory, and also started in United's next Premier League game against West Ham – a 1-0 win courtesy goal from Marcus Rashford.
Ronaldo has scored one goal in the Premier League so far, and three for Manchester United this season in 15 appearances.
The club is currently fifth in the Premier League table with seven wins in 12 matches; Arsenal are at the top of the table with 31 points, while Manchester City are second with 29. Tottenham and Newcastle United make the rest of the top-4.