Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in the fifth minute of added time to help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side exact revenge for last-year’s Europa League final defeat on Villarreal.
Solskjaer had David De Gea and Ronaldo to thank for bailing him and his team out against La Liga side in their latest UEFA Champions League match. The Red Devils were on the back-foot for large spells of the game, and deservedly fell behind to a 53rd-minute goal from Paco Alcacer. However, as they have done several times in the past, United came back to win the match with Ronaldo scoring a last-gasp winner.
Villarreal took the game to Manchester United during the early minutes. De Gea kept out Arnaut Danjuma in the 10th minute with a superb reactionary stop, preventing the latter’s fierce shot from arrowing into the far corner. He then flicked Alcacer’s goal-bound header over the bar from close range.
De Gea was left rooted to his spot when Alcacer stole the ball off Raphael Varane just past the half-hour mark and sent his shot goalwards – only to miss the post by a whisker. The Spaniard was called into action, once again, right on the stroke of half-time to deny Yeremy Pino from giving Villarreal the lead.
Unai Emery’s men did eventually take the lead in the 53rd minute through Alcacer, who put the finishing touch to a quick counter-attack.
However, the lead lasted only for seven minutes, and United found their way back into the game courtesy of a sublime finish from left-back Alex Telles, who hit the ball on a volley from outside of the box as part of a set-piece routine.
United’s increasing pressure eventually paid off in the fifth minute of additional time. Ronaldo headed the ball into the path of substitute Jesse Lingard and latched onto the latter’s pass before finishing emphatically from close range.
Despite getting his hand to it, Geronimo Rulli was unable to keep the ball out, and Manchester United were able to steal the game in its dying moments.
