Cristiano Ronaldo sent an inspiring message to Manchester United teammates and fans after the Red Devils were forced to settle for the Europa League play-off despite a 1-0 win against Real Sociedad.
Manchester United failed to secure the top spot in their Europa League group, despite registering a 1-0 win against Real Sociedad on Thursday. Alejandro Garnacho's goal, which came from a Cristiano Ronaldo assist, won the hearts of fans at the Reale Arena in Spain but was not enough as the Red Devils needed to win by two clear goals to pip the hosts in Group E.
Before the San Sebastian match, both teams were certain to advance from Group E, but United went to Spain in second place after September's shocking Old Trafford loss to the LaLiga team. The Red Devils were eager to overthrow the hosts, and Garnacho's brilliant strike gave them the perfect start. However, they struggled in the second half as Sociedad hung on for a 1-0 victory, which keeps them atop the group on goal difference.
To advance to the round of 16, United, who won five of their six group games, will now have to make their way through a two-legged play-off match against a third-place Champions League club in mid-February. Erik Ten Hag's men might play a team like Barcelona, Juventus or his former club Ajax. The victory, however, extended the Red Devils' winning streak to three games across all competitions and their unbeaten streak across all competitions to nine games, despite falling short of winning the group.
In addition, Ronaldo, who made his third consecutive start since being left off the team for the draw with Chelsea about a week ago, believes that United is still in a solid position to realise their goals for this season. "We move on and keep going after our goals this season! Thanks to our supporters that never give up on us," the Portuguese talisman wrote on his Instagram page after the game.
Star of the night Garnacho, who overtook George Best as the Red Devils' youngest non-English goalscorer in European competition, responded quickly to Ronaldo's message. "Thanks GOAT," wrote the 18-year-old in his idol's Instagram post. Other fans also commented on the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's message, with most stating he is the best player in the world.
United have improved recently under Ten Hag, and they will learn their opponents for their two-legged play-off matchup on Monday. In their last 11 games in all competitions, they have only lost one game, a 6-3 loss to Manchester City in the local derby at the beginning of last month. The Reds have three more games left until the season ends and the Qatar World Cup 2022 begins. On Sunday, United faces Aston Villa in the Premier League at Villa Park. A few days later, they go head-to-head with them at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup and then face Fulham 72 hours later.