Thursday 14 February 2013 06:16, UK
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo admitted that facing his former side Manchester United in the Champions League had been an emotional experience.
RONALDO'S NIGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT GOALS Ronaldo scores goals and lots of them. His latest strike, a brilliant header after an impressively long time in the air, was his 183rd in 180 official matches since swapping red for white in the summer of 2009. SHOOTING Never shy of shooting, his first effort came eight minutes in and chances rained in after that, hitting a free-kick against the wall and volleying the rebound just wide. A second-half free-kick flashed narrowly over the bar and he was also denied by David De Gea, Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand. POSITIONING Ronaldo started the game playing on the left-hand side and generally stayed there, although he occasionally switched to the right, most notably in the first half when he came in to connect with Mesut Ozil's cross and score. EXTRAS A first-half shoulder flick into the path of Xabi Alonso caught the eye, as did a humbling of Rafael to lay on a move. But with Manchester United doing their best to keep him under lock and key, showboating was hard, even if he did try to score with a cute backheel. CLASS Ronaldo is so used to scoring goals that celebrating is not always on his mind, but it was particularly pertinent that he kept his reaction low key last night, putting an apologetic hand up.