"This is only the beginning" - Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to Aston Villa loss, urges Manchester United teammates to show 'true strength'
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United's starting lineup for their Premier League clash against Aston Villa, but failed to make a significant impact. The Red Devils crashed to a narrow but disappointing 0-1 defeat at home after Kourtney Hause stole the thunder with a remarkable header in the 88th minute to convert Douglas Luiz's corner.
If the defeat in itself wasn't bad enough, injury added to the insult for Manchester United. The defensive duo of Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire sustained injuries that forced them out of the game, and could even render them unavailable for the next match.
Following Aston Villa's late goal, the dying embers of the game offered more drama as an Edinson Cavani header found Hause's outstretched hand within the box in stoppage time. Referee Mike Dean promptly pointed towards the penalty spot, and all eyes turned towards Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes in anticipation of who would step up to take the kick.
To the surprise of many, it was Bruno Fernandes and not Cristiano Ronaldo who stepped up, but the Portuguese talisman fired too high and sent the ball into the stands. Manchester United's failure to capitalize on the late chance ensured Aston Villa ran away with all three points, leaving Manchester United fourth on the Premier League table.
Cristiano Ronaldo, however, believes there's still plenty of time to make amends as he tried rejuvenating his team with an optimistic and motivational post on his Instagram account. The 36-year-old took to the social media platform to express himself and said:
"This is only the beginning, but in a competition as strong as the Premier League, every point counts! We must react immediately, get back on our feet and show our true strength."
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score for first time since return as Manchester United endured first Premier League defeat of the season
Liverpool are now the only side to remain unbeaten in the Premier League after Manchester United were reduced to their first league defeat of the season.
A first #PL defeat of the season.
#MUFC | #MUNAVL
Cristiano Ronaldo also endured a woeful first as he failed to score in a match for the first time since his return to Manchester United.
The defeat to Aston Villa made it two consecutive defeats for Manchester United in all competitions after they crashed out of the Carabao Cup earlier this week. Despite dropping all three points, the Red Devils find themselves just one point off of league leaders Liverpool.
With a string of incredibly challenging fixtures coming up, Solskjaer will hope that his Manchester United players can pick themselves up sooner rather than later.