Monday 1st Nov.2021:Cristiano Ronaldo has brushed off the critics who have labelled Manchester United as "crap" in recent weeks, saying after a 3-0 win against Tottenham on Saturday that he never cared about the public perception of the team.
His goal and assist vs Spurs helped relieve pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad after last weekend's 5-0 defeat to Liverpool prompted angry comments from the likes of Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney.
Still, the Red Devils remain in uncomfortable territory in the Premier League with their title ambitions a distant dream due to a generally disappointing month of October.. "For me, it doesn't bother me because I have played 18 years of football, so I know that one day [people will say] we are perfect and another day [they will say] we are crap.
"I know that and we have to deal with that, but it's always better when the people praise you and they are happy with you.
"Sometimes life is like that, sometimes we have to pass through bad moments and we have to change and we changed today.
"The team was a little bit under pressure, a little bit sad, but we knew that today we [could] give a good answer. We played good, we started the game very well.
"Of course my job is to help the team with my experience, my goals, my assists and I did that today and I feel so pleased with that. But in terms of the team, it was an unbelievable performance in my opinion."
Even with their comprehensive victory over Tottenham, Ronaldo and Co. are eight points back of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, so the criticism won't simply go away due to a single positive result.
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However, the importance of beating Spurs cannot be overstated, as United kept themselves near a top-four place when a defeat would have tumbled them all the way down to eighth. And amid calls that he should be dropped, Ronaldo netted a stunning volley.
They will look to use this weekend's win as a stepping stone for a strong midweek performance against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday.
