Christiano Ronaldo was Left “upset by his Manchester United team-mates in Wednesday night’s clash with Villarreal and made his feeling clear before he scored the winner, according to Alex Telles.
The Red Devils had struggled to get Ronaldo into the game, with the Portuguese superstar having just one shot on target in the entire match.
United had 14 shots in total against Unai Emery’s men, as well as enjoying 54 per cent of the possession in the Champions League clash at Old Trafford.
But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made hard work of turning that dominance into goals, with United once again forced to rely on two moments of brilliance to secure the three points.
Paco Alcacer had put the visitors in front after good work from Arnaut Danjuma on the wing, to prompt concern United could fall to a third successive home defeat.
But Telles put United back on level terms seven minutes later when he fired in a stunning volley from 20 yards out.
Following that equaliser though, it looked as if United would be forced to settle for a point, with Villarreal proving tough to break down.
As has so often happened during Ronaldo’s career though, the 36-year-old stepped up deep into added time to fire in the winner after Jesse Lingard had pulled the ball back.
That win was United’s first in the Champions League this season and also saw Ronaldo hailed for match-winning moment.
Until that point it had been a quiet night from the superstar, with Telles admitting that he had been left frustrated by his United team-mates.
The left-back revealed that Ronaldo’s unhappiness was focused on the lack of service he was provided throughout the night.
And Ronaldo made sure his team-mates knew about his frustrations before he finally found a way past Villarreal keeper Gerónimo Rulli.
But Telles insisted that he attempted to keep his team-mate focused on the game, even predicting that he would get one final chance to score.
“So, it was the first time I play with him,” Telles told TNT Sports.
“Off the pitch, we already have this closer relationship because we speak Portuguese. And five minutes before he was a little upset that we didn’t get any balls to him.
“I said ‘it will arrive, it will arrive, stay concentrated because it will arrive’. And as soon as I went off, Ronaldo doesn’t need much, right?
“We know his quality, we see it on a daily basis. So it only took one ball in the box and he gave us the victory. It’s a dream.”
While that was Ronaldo’s fifth goal in five games since he returned to the Red Devils, Solskjaer will know he needs to find a way to involve his star attacker more.
The United boss will hope that starts tomorrow, when the Red Devils travel to Everton in the lunchtime kick-off.
Solskjaer’s men can move to the top of the Premier League with a win at Goodison Park, with their rivals for first place not playing until later in the weekend.