Cristiano Ronaldo netted for the third time in four days in the Manchester United shirt, but the English giants couldn’t come out as winners against Young Boys Bern. Ronaldo scored in both his starts for United since his transfer from Juventus was completed.
The trip to meet Swiss champions Young Boys, who are considered the outsiders in Group F, was no easy affair for Manchester United. Ronaldo opened the scoring after just 13 minutes following a great pass from Bruno Fernandes, and things were on track for the Red Devils. Second-half goals from Ngamaleu (’69) and Siebatcheu (’90+5) offered the hosts a win they could have only dreamed of. Europa League winners Villarreal and Italian wonder Atalanta are part of Group F as well.
Against YB, Ronaldo scored his 135th goal in the Champions League, being the competition’s top puncher. Also in Bern, Ronaldo played his 181st Champions League game, equalizing Iker Casillas’ number of appearances. The two now hold the record for the highest number of Champions League matches played to date.
Ronaldo spent 72 minutes on the pitch, being subbed by Lingard with less than 20 minutes left in the game. Lingard offered just one good pass until the match finished, also providing a perfect involuntary assist for Siebatcheu’s goals, which made it 2-1 to Young Boys.
United went down to 10 men after 35 minutes, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka sent off by French referee Letexier.
Manchester United managed just two shots in Bern, the fewest on record since 2003/04 according to Opta. United’s second, and last, shot of the match came in the 25th minute when Ronaldo unsuccessfully went for his double.
Ronaldo hit a steward by accident in warmup
Before the game, a powerful shot from Ronaldo saw a steward put to the ground. The ball hit the woman in the head. Ronaldo saw what had just happened and rushed to the scene, before returning to the pitch assured things were under control.
