Manager Erik ten Hag looks back on his Europa League evening with a satisfied feeling. On a visit to Sheriff Tiraspol, Manchester United were 0-2 too strong thanks to hits from Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo. It was for the Portuguese his first goal ever in the Europa League and his first goal under Ten Hag, who indicates through the club channels that he is pleased with Ronaldo’s performance.
Sancho opened the score in the seventeenth minute of the won game. Christian Eriksen put the ball on the edge of the box for Sancho, who looked for his left and then outwitted goalkeeper Maksym Koval with a placed shot into the right corner: 0-1. The score was doubled by Ronaldo a few minutes before half-time from the penalty spot. Patrick Kpozo knocked Diogo Dalot down in the penalty area, after which referee Pawel Raczkowski pointed resolutely to the spot. Ronaldo sent Koval into the corner and shot through the middle.
?? @Cristiano coolly use the penalty kick @ManUtd and scores his first goal of the season! ?? pic.twitter.com/lx7LwxHwCu
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) September 15, 2022
It comes as no surprise to Ten Hag that Ronaldo only registered his first goal of the season on Thursday evening. “You can expect this if you miss the preparation, so he has to work very hard and invest to get the right condition,” said the coach afterwards. “Once he has the desired condition, he will score more goals. I think that he is fully committed to this project and to this team. He is very involved. You also see connections developing around him and he sets up combinations himself, so I’m happy about that.”
Furthermore, the Dutch elector praises the way in which the left flank, where Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Sancho were posted, came out. “I think Jadon has a lot of potential because he also has a good preparation. He’s invested a lot and he’s on his way to get really fit. It’s a process and he’s scoring goals. We can play over that left side with Tyrell and Eriksen in the triangle. How they moved together… I think they were a real threat to the opponent,” said Ten Hag.