Arsene Wenger reveals reason Cristiano Ronaldo was 'gutted' after Man Utd clash

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Manchester United. Inset - Arsene Wenger [Courtesy]

Arsene Wenger says Cristiano Ronaldo would have gone home ‘absolutely gutted’ that Manchester United’s late comeback at Juventus overshadowed his stunning opening goal.

Ronaldo fired Juventus into the lead with a superb first-time volley, before United pulled off an unlikely comeback with two goals in the final five minutes.

The Portuguese had previously suggested he wouldn’t celebrate if he scored against his former club, but that all went out the window with the former United man wheeling away and lifting his shirt after opening the scoring.

Ronaldo also took aim at United after the game, insisting Juve should have ran out ‘easy’ winners, before criticising the away side’s approach.

Cristiano criticised Man United for not deserving the win [Courtesy]

“I was happy for the goal, but disappointed because we should win the game easily, by three or four goals,” Ronaldo said in his post-match interview.

“Manchester didn’t do much, in my opinion. They created two chances at set-pieces. English teams are always looking for the set-pieces.”

The 33-year-old has previously steered clear of criticising the club he spent six years at under Sir Alex Ferguson, and Wenger believes he was particularly aggrieved due to United’s late show overshadowing his earlier effort.

“It is such a fantastic goal, it surprises us all, we have seen so many games but we’re still surprised because he does the unexpected,” Wenger told BeIN Sports.

“He has a short backlift, it doesn’t take him time to hit the ball and even the keeper didn’t move, De Gea has fantastic reactions but even he didn’t lift a hand.

“He [Ronaldo] will go home tonight, believe me, absolutely gutted because a goal like that will not be highlighted because they lost the game. This goal, with a 1-0 victory, would have been all over the world tomorrow.”

The win leaves United needing just four points from their final two games in Group H to guarantee progression to the Champions League knockout stages, with Young Boys visiting Old Trafford at the end of the month before Mourinho’s men travel to Valencia in December.