Updated On: 17 March, 2022 06:57 AM IST | Manchester | A Correspondent
Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo fails to make a single shot in 90 minutes as United bow out after 0-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in pre-quarters

Man United’s Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League tie v Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford on Tuesday
Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, and Manchester United cut a sorry figure at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. Atletico Madrid drove the final nail in the coffin of a miserable season for United as Renan Lodi’s header sent the Spanish champions into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 1-0 win to progress 2-1 on aggregate. The Brazilian full-back headed in unmarked at the back post four minutes before half-time to end United’s last chance of silverware this season as their drought without a trophy since 2017 goes on. United now face an uphill task just to get back into the Champions League next season as an under-performing squad filled with star names sits fifth in the Premier League.
The night was worse for Ronaldo, who had returned to United in the hope of winning Europe’s biggest titles. Instead, his European season ended with a series of embarrassing records in front of home fans.Heading into the second leg against Atletico, United were tied 1-1 with the Spanish side after the first leg. However, a fantastic, match-winning hat-trick in an English Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend, meant that Ronaldo would have been high on confidence as he strolled on to the turf at Theatre Of Dreams. To add to this, Ronaldo had consistently been the scourge of Atletico in the Champions League, twice landing the ultimate blow in final defeats to Real Madrid and scoring a hat-trick for Juventus to overturn a 2-0 first leg deficit at this stage three years ago. But shockingly, Europe’s most successful striker could not manage a single shot across the entire 90 minutes of play. Worse still, he failed to touch the ball even once inside Atletico Madrid’s penalty box throughout the entire match.