Wednesday September 15, 2021
Harsh damper for Ronaldo
Horror back pass embarrassed Man United
Manchester United absolutely want to build on the great successes of the past. Not only the English championship is the goal, but also triumph in the Champions League. But the dream of a pot with handle already experiences a bitter damper on the first day of the game.
What did Jesse Lingard allow? Since late Tuesday evening, this question will probably be asked by everyone who holds it with Manchester United. In the 95th (!) Minute of the Champions League game at Young Boys Bern, the offensive man played a completely insane back pass to goalkeeper David de Gea. Lingard pushes the ball (yes, actually, he pushes, without any pressure) across the confusing crowd around his own penalty area. And so the drama (or the horror) takes its course. Instead of arriving at the Spaniard, the ball lands with the watchful Jordan Siebatcheu. The striker remains relaxed and scores. To victory. To 2: 1. United? Embarrassed.
Now the situation is like this: On the first day of the match, a champion has never been chosen. This applies to the national leagues and of course also to the premier class. But Manchester United absolutely wants to win it. In a bizarre transfer frenzy, the team was pimped by coach Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer. The most powerful luxury item in the squad: Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. This is not only a sporting asset for the “Red Devils”, but also gives the club an emotional boost. After all, the Portuguese once matured here to become one of the greatest in his sport. And now he returned “home” to the grand finale of his career. The euphoria is gigantic. The demands too. His first appearance in the old homeland last weekend became the big show of CR7. Even Mama Dolores was allowed to attend despite the stadium ban. And survived the visit unscathed.
In Bern, for all that is known, she was not there. This did not affect Ronaldo adversely. Because he just did what he (almost) always does: score goals. After just 13 minutes, he had struck and thus opened the premier class. It was the first goal of the new season in the elite class. It was a hit, played out really beautifully. Playmaker Bruno Fernandes, with whom Ronaldo also plays in the Portuguese national team, had the ball on the left side with the outside instep pulled the ball through the penalty area onto the far post perfectly and at great speed, where CR7 was lurking and completed by direct tap. It was his 135th goal in the Champions League. Before that, the record scorer had also become a record player – with 177 appearances, he is now level with Iker Casillas, his former Real Madrid team-mate.
Ronaldo ticks it off
The goal to make it 1-0 early on was a scene that shows why Manchester United can dream of the big titles. The only problem is: there were surprisingly few of these scenes in Bern. That it was also because the Red Devils were outnumbered for a long time after Aaron Wan-Bissaka (35th) was sent off against the really courageous and never giving up Swiss, that would be a bit too cheap an explanation. In the end there were only two (!) Shots on goal in the statistics. To say that’s bad would be a tough understatement. But the statistics also fit the game that Bern dominated with Schalke’s ex-coach David Wagner. The Swiss tried their hand at a successful conclusion 20 (!) Times. They succeeded twice. Even if with massive help on the 20th attempt. All the same. Sensation is sensation.
And she puts one man in an ugly situation: United coach Solskjaer. He has already received the seventh defeat in the eleventh game in the premier class. And as the data service provider Optajoe has calculated, the Norwegian is now responsible for 13 percent of all United bankruptcies in this competition, although he only coached 5 percent of all players in the premier league. Since he is repeatedly criticized, also because he should not be very tactically mature, it could be tight this season for the man who, because of his decisive Champions League goal against FC Bayern in 1999, is actually one Club legend is.
Well, that Tuesday night, he wasn’t the man they were talking about. It was Ronaldo again. That had caused a spectacular scene before kick-off. He accidentally hit a folder while warming up and it fell to the floor. Ronaldo immediately ran over and took care. Everything went well. That didn’t apply to the game. The superstar quickly ticked it off: “It wasn’t the result we wanted, but now it’s time to relax and concentrate on the next game.” That is especially true for Jesse Lingard.
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