Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United on Wednesday night fought back from a goal down to beat Villarreal 2-1 at Old Trafford after losing by same margin against Young Boys in their UEFA Champions League campaign.
The victory ensured that United finally managed a revenge against the Spanish giants who handed them a painful Europa League final defeat last season to quash the Red Devils chance of ending the season with a trophy.
United drew level with a great volley from Alex Telles after Villarreal have taken a deserved lead with half an hour to play. And moments later it was Ronaldo who finally broke the hearts of the Spanish giants with his stoppage time winner as the Portuguese goal machine sent Old Trafford fans into wild jubilation.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and United have endured an overwhelming pressure after losing their opening Champions League group stage match against Swiss champions Young Boys as they were left to face an uphill task to qualify for the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, after the dramatic turnaround, Ronaldo now believes that United can progress from Group F and has thanked the supporters for the part they played in the win.
‘Now everything is possible everything is open and we believe we will go through,’ he told BT Sport.
‘This is why I came back, I missed this club a lot. I made history in this club, and I want to do it again.
‘I have to say thanks you to all of them [the fans], not just for me, but to push the team which will be very important especially this season.’
Victory represented a huge relief for Solskjaer who indulged in a passionate celebration of his own on the touchline after Ronaldo pounced with virtually the last act of a dramatic contest.
‘It is a massive result for the team and the spirit of the team as well,’ Solskjaer said afterwards.
‘We gave ourselves a difficult job with the sending off in the last game [Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the defeat at Young Boys] so to get three points at home is important – now we need to get to 10 or maybe 12 to get through.
‘He has done that so many times. When you saw him against Ireland a [few] weeks ago [for Portugal] he missed a penalty early, didn’t touch the ball more or less, then scored two great headers in the last two minutes.
‘That is just what he has done throughout his career, he is so strong mentally, he just stays in the game.
‘I have seen him all day today, the way he has built himself up for this game, how focused he has been and when he gets that one chance it is a goal.
‘He had a couple of half decent headers in the first half that could have ended up with chances but it is the mark of a true finisher that he comes alive when the chance arrives.’