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Omonia F.C. v Man Utd: Pictures
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo despite the 37-year-old drawing a blank in his side's 3-2 win over Omonia on Thursday. The Portugal international was unleashed from the start in Cyprus. However, he cut a frustrated figure on the night due to his failure to find the net - with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial stepping up instead.
Manchester United had to dig deep to get the better of Omonia.
They fell behind in the second half, and conceded late on, but a brace from Rashford and a terrific strike from Martial gave them all three Europa League points.
Ronaldo produced an enterprising and energetic display as United’s figurehead but drew a blank, much to his frustration.
On multiple occasions the 37-year-old looked to the heavens in anger, swearing and gesturing as his mood worsened.
Ronaldo had a smile on his face come the end of the match, with United returning to winning ways after Sunday’s dire 6-3 defeat to Manchester City.
And Ten Hag has insisted he’s happy with the veteran after the game.
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“I think the first two [shots he had produced] good saves from the goalie,” the 52-year-old told club media.
“He had a couple of chances, also he created a couple of chances.
“He was in for a good move and run for the first goal with Marcus Rashford, so he had an impact in this game."
Ten Hag also singled out Martial for praise, admitting he was easing the United star back into action following his injury issues.
"I want to do it really careful because he had a good pre-season and then the last 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid he fell out [injured] and then he returned against Liverpool, and so another injury from far back,” he said.
“I cannot force it. I have to do it with a plan and I’m trying to do it at the moment but it’s quite clear I’m happy with his performance.
“All the subs had a really good impact and that’s what I expect from players on the bench.
“You’re not playing with XI, we can sub five so every sub has to be ready. Tonight, was the best example you can get.”
On his side’s overall display, he continued: “A good start to the game. The first 30 minutes were really well done, a couple of chances against a compact team is not that easy.
“But then we make a mistake and then for 10 minutes, we were really bad.
“That cannot happen, we have to take responsibility by, first, not giving goals in such a manner away, and then by dealing with it, staying composed, sticking to the plan and keeping in position.”
And Ten Hag reiterated that it will take time for United to be fully back to their swashbuckling best, too.
Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag lauded Anthony Martial after Omonia win (Image: GETTY)
“It’s a process. A project and a process, we knew that from the start,” he stated.
“We have to give every day our maximum. We have to improve every day and also sometimes you fall back.
“We have to get up again and that is what I demand from my squad. We have to carry on and every time learn the lessons and give the maximum.
“Only good for me is good enough and by far we are not that good. We have seen on Sunday. We have to do much better and that is what we did in games before – better intensity.
“We have to bring much better intensity. That was the big difference between City and us. That’s the demand to squad and the players have to take responsibility for that.”
Omonia boss Neil Lennon, meanwhile, rued his side’s failure to get anything from the game despite scoring twice.
"We rode our luck a lot of times, we kept ourselves in the game with good goalkeeping and a lot of Man Utd missed chances,” he said.
“I didn't expect us to score two goals! It's going to be a different game at Old Trafford, but we have seen them up close and know what their weaknesses are. We will go there and give it everything we've got.”
On whether his side have regrets, he added: "Some of the players will, yeah. The first two goals we were too open at centre-half then Bruno misses the chance with the lob.
“There were things we could have done better with ball retention. The gulf between the teams was there, but I'm delighted with two goals."
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