It was a reward for a resolute defensive display, one that had kept United in touch with a superior Juventus side until a remarkable five minutes in which the game turned on its head.
It was injury time when Ashley Young curled in a free-kick that seemed to leave Juve’s defence in chaos. A bundle of players attacked the ball at the far post, Paul Pogba among them. He was claiming the goal, but it looked as if full-back Alex Sandro got the final touch.
There was a stunned silence, a moment when it was thought Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan might save the home side – and then he signalled the goal. Until that moment it had looked to be Ronaldo’s night. This time he did celebrate. He said he wouldn’t, at Old Trafford, out of respect to his former club and their fans. Here, in the shadow of the Alps, there was no such obligation. So when he scored the goal that looked to have undone so much fine defensive work by Manchester United he celebrated like, well, Cristiano Ronaldo.
He ran to the left of the goal and pulled up his shirt to reveal that washboard torso, a central core so firm and toned a small tower block could be constructed around it with no query from the planning department. How long does Ronaldo work on athletic tone? Probably as long as he works on the first time finishing that flummoxed Manchester United.
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