Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted his Manchester United side “got lucky” in their Champions League victory over Villarreal, but hailed the impact of Cristiano Ronaldo after the forward’s 95th-minute winner.
The Spanish side were on top for much of Tuesday night’s group stage clash and United had David de Gea to thank for going in level at half-time.
Paco Alcacer did break the deadlock after the break but Alex Telles’ brilliant volley levelled before Ronaldo marked his record 178th Champions League appearance with a stoppage time winner to give United three crucial but barely deserved points, after they had lost their opener against Swiss side Young Boys.
“That’s what happens here at Old Trafford, it’s happened so many times before,” Solskjaer said of the late comeback. “Of course, we had to throw caution to the wind and we got lucky in the end.
“Sometimes its not about pass there and pass there it’s the crowd, the Stretford End has sucked a few balls in before, I know that and that’s probably what happened. When you’ve got Cristiano on the pitch you’ve always got a chance.
“Seriously, he’s so good in front of goal and he has an impact on everyone, the crowd, the players, the whole club.
“It’s massive for the players to win games in this fashion, after we lost the game in Bern in that fashion. I’d rather have a win and a defeat than two draws.”
