Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly channelled his inner Sir Alex Ferguson and launched a ‘stunning hairdryer treatment’ on his Manchester United teammates over their first-half performance against Atalanta.
Mario Pasalic stunned United in the 15th minute at Old Trafford on Wednesday before Merih Demiral put Atalanta 2-1 up in the Champions League clash.
The Red Devils trailed Atalanta going into half-time and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was under intense pressure amid United suffering a potentially huge blow in their Champions League campaign.
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United rallied back in the second half as Marcus Rashford pulled one back for his side in the 53rd minute before Harry Maguire scored the equaliser in the 75th minute.
The Red Devils completed their comeback in the 81st minute after Luke Shaw’s excellent cross was met by Ronaldo, who fired a superb header past Juan Musso.
United climbed to the top of Group F with the 3-2 win, with Ronaldo showing how much the result meant to him at the full-time whistle.
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However, it would appear that Ronaldo played a much bigger role in United’s successful comeback than scoring the winner.
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According to The Sun, the 36-year-old Portuguese superstar stepped up in the dressing room and slammed his teammates over United’s ‘unacceptable’ performance.
The newspaper added that Ronaldo took charge of a tense situation at half-time while Solskjaer was busy ‘trying to calm down feuding’ United players.
A United source told The Sun: “Cristiano addressed the whole team and told them that the performance was unacceptable.
“He asked if they were not ashamed and said this was not how Manchester United perform in front of their own fans. He told them they needed to win the game and, if they didn’t, they might not qualify for the next stage of the Champions League.”
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The tabloid claimed that Solskjaer utilised Ronaldo’s ‘hairdryer treatment’ to offer his own feedback and how they could take control of the match so long as they played as a team and scored next.
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Bruno Fernandes also reportedly informed the United boss that he needed to shake up his tactics to allow him to drop deeper and to receive the ball much easier.
United sit top of Group F on six points and are two points clear of second-place Villarreal and third-place Atalanta.
Solskjaer’s men face a tough run of Premier League fixtures in the coming weeks against the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City.
United’s Champions League campaign will resume on 2nd November with an away trip to Atalanta.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Atalanta, Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football, UEFA, Champions League