Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for Real Madrid against Villarreal. In the second round of the 2021/22 Champions League, Manchester United prepares to face Villarreal and coach Solskjaer believes Cristiano Ronaldo almost guarantees goals. Our football prediction says the match may end in a 1-1 draw.
In last year’s Europa League final, The Red Devils had to, unfortunately, accept a defeat against the Yellow Submarines on penalties after ending the match on draw, not only this United have drawn their last five meetings with Villarreal. As a result, the Premier League club will be hoping that the 36-year-old, the Champions League’s all-time leading scorer, can help them end their winless streak.
However, in four previous appearances for United, Ronaldo has never scored against Villarreal in the competition, only failing to score against Lille and Benfica as frequently. Nevertheless, he scored 13 times against the Spanish side during his time with Real Madrid, a factor Solskjaer hopes will work in United’s favour.
Since rejoining Old Trafford, the Portuguese has racked four goals in four games, but he failed to score for the first time in the Premier League defeat to Aston Villa last week. According to football news reports from the pre-match news conference, Solskjaer said when asked if Ronaldo could be the difference, “Of course Cristiano, you can almost say when he starts it is one guaranteed goal. He has that record and he will score goals.”
“It is not going to be easy for us, but it is not going to be easy [for Villarreal] to play against Cristiano. He has 13 goals in 15 against Villarreal [for Madrid] which means he enjoys playing against them. He knows Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, top defenders. He is determined to score every time he is on the pitch. We have to play well to create chances.” If Ronaldo plays, he will break former Real Madrid teammate Iker Casillas’ Champions League appearance record of 178 games.
