Cristiano Ronald scores on Manchester United return in Europa

MANCHESTER: Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the starting line-up as Manchester United sealed a place in the Europa League knockout rounds with a 3-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Ronaldo, who was left out of the squad for the weekend Premier League trip to Chelsea for disciplinary reasons, scored the third goal after Diogo Dalot and Marcus Rashford had given the home side a comfortable lead. United is in second place in Group E with 12 points from five matches.

The Erik ten Hag-managed side never looked troubled against Moldovan outfit Sheriff. It might have been out of sight by half-time after creating numerous chances, but only had Dalot’s header from a Christian Eriksen corner just before the break to show for it.

Defender Harry Maguire came on for the second half having missed the previous eight games with a hamstring injury as United doubled their lead when Rashford headed in Luke Shaw’s cross in the 65th minute. Ronaldo netted a late third from close range.

RESULTS: Manchester United 3 (D Dalot 44, M Rashford 65, C Sheriff Tiraspol 81) bt Sheriff Tiraspol 0; PSV 2 (J Veerman 55, L de Jong 63) bt Arsenal 0