Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo tallies 701st club goal in Man Utd return after disciplinary cut

Cristiano Ronaldo registered the 701st goal of his club football career on Thursday night during the UEFA Europa League 2022-23 match against Sheriff FC at the Old Trafford Stadium. This was Ronaldo’s first goal of the ongoing season at Manchester United’s home ground, which came a week after the 37-year-old made headlines for disciplinary reasons. The Portuguese great was seen walking off the field on October 20 during the Premier League 2022-23 match against Tottenham Hotspur, even before the final whistle went off. 

Ronaldo was then suspended from the senior team for a match, as United returned with a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge stadium. However, after being included in the starting XI for Thursday’s match against Sheriff, Ronaldo proved his mettle with an 81st-minute goal. He scored the third goal of the night for United after Fernandes sent the ball across to Ronaldo, who initially pulled off a header. 

After Sheriff goalkeeper Koval saved the header, Ronaldo fired the rebound with his left foot and converted it into a goal. Meanwhile, Koval made a total of four saves in the first half of the game, but Diogo Dalot opened the scoresheet with a 44th-minute header. Marcus Rashford hit another header in the 65th minute to take the score of 2-0, before Ronaldo’s goal handed United a comfortable 3-0 win.

Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo's goal against Sheriff at UEFA Europa League 2022-23

How did Erik ten Hag react to Cristiano Ronaldo's goal? 

United manager Erik ten Hag, who was earlier miffed at the Portuguese national for the disciplinary breaches, had high praises reserved for the player after Thursday’s match. As reported by Manchester Evening News, speaking to reporters after the match, Ten Hag revealed his thoughts on being impressed by the footballer’s perseverance to score. “Yes, what you said, he kept going, the team kept going to put him in the right position. He kept going to put himself in the right position. He didn't give up. That's his whole career. That's why he's so good and he got the reward for it,” Ten Hag said.

This was Ronaldo’s second goal of the Europa League 2022-23 season, which came in his 5th appearance in the 2nd tier of European football for United. He previously scored in the away clash against Sheriff on September 15. The 37-year-old has scored only once in the eight Premier League appearances he has made this year.