"Great victory" - Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo hails crucial Leicester City win on Instagram
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has applauded his side's 1-0 Premier League victory over Leicester City on Instagram.
The two teams clashed at the King Power Stadium on Thursday, September 1. Ronaldo started on the bench for a third consecutive league game as Erik ten Hag fielded the same XI that earned him victories against Liverpool and Southampton.
The visitors looked composed in possession and were solid defensively without the ball. Their early domination saw Jadon Sancho open the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-weighted pass from Marcus Rashford.
While Manchester United continued to dominate the game, they couldn't find the back of the net a second time. However, Leicester also struggled in attack and Sancho's strike turned out to be the only goal of the contest. Thanks to his strike, Ten Hag condemned Brendan Rodgers to a fourth successive league defeat.
The Dutch tactician brought on Ronaldo in the second half for goalscorer Sancho. The former Real Madrid forward produced a much better performance than in the previous matches. He held the ball up well, allowing the likes of Rashford and Bruno Fernandes to run in behind Leicester's defense.
Following the victory, Cristiano Ronaldo took to Instagram to post a picture of himself and midfielder Casemiro, who also came on as a substitute. He captioned the image:
"Great victory!"
Here's the Portuguese's Instagram post:
The 1-0 win over Leicester saw United climb to fifth spot in the Premier League table. They are six points off top-placed Arsenal, who they will face on Sunday, September 4, at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo stays put at Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo was linked with a Manchester United exit throughout the recently concluded summer transfer window. The club's failure to qualify for this season's UEFA Champions League was rumored to be a key reason behind the Portuguese's reluctance to stay at Old Trafford.
However, a move did not materialize and he is now set to stay put at United at least until the January transfer window. Ronaldo still has a year remaining on his contract with the club, who also have the option to extend it by another year.
🗣️ "He will have a big part to play in the team"
Erik Ten Hag responded to questions after tonight's win at Leicester about Cristiano Ronaldo's role in the #MUFC side 🔴 https://t.co/cb3ToCDXkV
The 37-year-old, who is approaching the twilight of his career, returned to Manchester last year, joining the Red Devils from Juventus. He had a decent season on a personal level as he finished as United's top-scorer with 24 goals in all competitions.
However, he couldn't lead the team to a top-four finish in the league.