Cristiano Ronaldo chased down by pitch invader before stewards wipe him out

Cristiano Ronaldo ended up getting chased down by a crazed pitch invader before stewards wipe him out at the last second on Wednesday night.

Ronaldo was the hero for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side yet again, scoring an 81st minute header to complete the hosts quick comeback, a 3-2 win over the Serie A outfit.

The Red Devils had been booed off by the Old Trafford faithful at half time after goals from Mario Pasalic and Merih Demiral left them 2-0 down.

But they stormed back after the break as Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire produced two fine finishes to draw United level.

The stage was then set for Ronaldo, who hit home Luke Shaw’s whipped cross, to give the crowd a night to remember.

Victory was much needed for United, who were under pressure following the disappointing 4-2 defeat by Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

And there were jubilant scenes when the final whistle was finally blown, with Ronaldo sinking to his knees in celebration.

When hugging all his team-mates and his manager, the Portuguese star made his way to the tunnel in the corner of the ground as he usually would.

It was then when a crazy pitch invader was seen running fast towards Ronaldo, who had the cameras following him.

The supporter managed to get a hold of the 36-year-old’s shirt before being dragged down by a group of stewards at the last second.

Ronaldo didn’t look too concerned before then shrugging off the incident and resumed smiling and taking in the adoration of the home support.

CR7’s header took him onto 137 goals in the Champions League, extending his lead over Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring charts.

Ronaldo has now hit six goals in eight appearances for United this season following his return from Juventus.

Solskjaer took the opportunity to defend his star player, who has been criticised by some for an apparent lack of work rate.

“If anyone wants to criticise Ronaldo for attitude and work rate just watch the game today,” Solskjaer said post-match.

“I said make sure we get the next goal and as long as we did not concede the next goal I knew we’d win the game.”

United will hope Ronaldo carries his form into the weekend, with Liverpool arriving at Old Trafford on Sunday for a mouth-watering Premier League match.

Player ratings

Man Utd: De Gea (7), Wan-Bissaka (7), Lindelof (6), Maguire (7), Shaw (7), Fred (6), McTominay (7), Fernandes (8), Rashford (7), Ronaldo (8), Greenwood (7).

Subs: Pogba (7), Cavani (6), Sancho (6), Matic (n/a).

Away Team: Musso (8), Maehle (7), Palomino (8), Koopmeiners (7), Muriel (7), Freuler (6), De Roon (6), Demiral (8), Ilicic (6), Zappacosta (7), Pasalic (7).

Subs: Lovato (5), Zapata (6), Miranchuk (6), Malinovsky (6), Pezzella (n/a).

Man of the match: Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskajer to BT Sport: “The fans are a big part of this club. The singing section there kept the players going with their belief. That is what you do at Manchester United on a Champions League night. This corner of the stadium here are the best in the world. There is a bit of time when you are down as a supporter, but you keep going.

“I thought we played well first half too. Two chances, two goals. It had to stop if we are to survive. We have a habit of doing this at this club. I thought we played well, and they scored a goal out of nothing and then another set-piece. But they never stopped believing and kept going.

“Don’t disrespect the players. They play for Manchester United, and they know they are the luckiest men in the world. Tonight, they are the luckiest men in the world because they get to play for Manchester United. That is what so many millions of boys and girls want to do.

“He had chances in the first half, but Marcus kept on going. He got a knock, but he is going to be very important for us. It was instinctive finish from Harry. I don’t think you would have expected him to score that one. And Cristiano is great in front of goal. If anyone wants to criticise him for effort and work rate just watch this game. Watch how he runs around.

“At half-time, I said make sure we get the next goal, because then we win the game. As long as we don’t concede I was pretty sure we would win the game. It was just about taking chances.”

Twitter users reacted with Cristiano Ronaldo chased down by pitch invader before stewards wipe him out…

@4had10: Can that steward play CDM

@trilllla17: That’s a job well done, he touched Ronaldo

@Ramiirio: better runner than fred

@ArtemisPhoenixx: Unreal from the steward

@JamaalSharif: Seeing this guy run from the stands was hilarious😂 man was darting for his life

@MubzD22: The Goat’s smile after all that 😂😂

@DarraghMUFC__: The steward nearly took Ronaldo out lool

@omiDaphonie: So they wasn’t gone warn him or nuffin ?

@frank_lucas77: why is his reaction so robotic

@UtdSk_: Wtffff who saw that pitch invader blud Ronaldo got scared loool

@RoscoP23: That steward has pace and can tackle. Get him in for Maguire

@ali_haytch: I’m doing this on Sunday, no one is stopping me

@VxmpFKM: Do ppl realised how close that steward was to taking out Ronaldo ankle? What would even happen next

@Firtinho: That pitch invader getting tackled before he got to Ronaldo hahahahahaha delighted

@Gavin1393: Runs over absolutely 2 foots him ending his career 😂 Can you feel the panic on the stewards when they realised he was going straight for Ronaldo 😂😂😂

@steevo70: Looked like he was about to attack him

Crying man had that Mbappe pace 😂😂😂😂 #MUNATA pic.twitter.com/e2dd2r4P4W

— oxygen (@oxygeninnit) October 20, 2021