Manchester United’s 3-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday was the perfect antidote after being left disappointed and under some pressure following a big defeat against Liverpool last week, Cristiano Ronaldo said.
United came into the contest in north London on the back of a 0-5 hammering by bitter rivals Liverpool that heaped on the pressure but goals from Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford sealed a comfortable win.
“We knew before the game that we had a tough week after a result that we didn’t expect,” Ronaldo told Sky Sports.
“The team was a little bit under pressure, a little bit sad, but we knew we could give a good answer. We played good, started well. Of course my job is to help the team with my experience, my goals, my assists and I did that and I feel so pleased. In terms of the team, it was an unbelievable performance.”
Ronaldo, who scored from a superb volley before setting up Cavani in the second half, said he was delighted the team could snap a poor run of four games without victory.
“The criticisms are always there,” Ronaldo said. “It doesn’t bother me because I have played 18 years of football, so I know that one day people will say ‘we’re perfect’ and another day they will say ‘we’re crap’.
“I know that and we have to deal with that, but it’s always better when the people praise you and they are happy with you. Sometimes life is like that, sometimes we have to pass through bad moments and we have to change and we changed today (Saturday).”
Klopp’s pat
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said his Brighton & Hove Albion counterpart Graham Potter has all the qualities to be a success at the south coast club, after the teams played out a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
Brighton’s Enock Mwepu and Leandro Trossard cancelled out strikes by Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane, as they came from two goals down to seal a point at Anfield and end Liverpool's four-game winning run in all competitions.
“He definitely has all that you need. I don’t know Graham too well but what I can say is he’s an absolutely nice fellow and his team mirrors his ability,” Klopp said.
“He has a clear idea about football and doing a brilliant job. I don’t want to talk the coach of Brighton away to some other clubs but I think he shouldn’t worry about his future.”
Racist abuse
Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha has been subjected to racist abuse online and the 28-year-old shared screenshots of some of the comments after the 2-0 win over Manchester City.
Zaha, who scored the opening goal of the game at the Etihad Stadium, was brought down by Aymeric Laporte which resulted in the City defender receiving a straight red card.
The Ivory Coast international, who has previously been targeted online, posted images of the racist messages that he received on Instagram after the game and asked social media companies to take the problem seriously.
“This message isn’t for me to get a million messages saying ‘we stand with you’ and ‘it’s disgusting’ or about me getting sympathy,” Zaha wrote on Instagram. “I’m not here for all the nonsense that’s being done instead of fixing the actual problem.
“I don’t mind abuse because nowadays it comes with doing the job I do even though it’s not an excuse but my colour will always be the real problem. It’s fine because I’ll always be BLACK AND PROUD.”
