Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini has revealed the details of his full-time chat with Cristiano Ronaldo after Manchester United twice came from behind to draw their Champions League clash on Tuesday.
The Portugal legend struck in injury time in both halves in Bergamo to salvage a point for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side. They sit second in Group F, level on points with Villarreal with games against the La Liga club and Young Boys to come.
It's not the first time Atalanta have been stung by Ronaldo, either. The 36-year-old scored against them three times in Serie A during his time with Juventus and also netted twice in the Red Devils' dramatic 3-2 victory over La Dea on the previous matchday.
"At the end of the match, I spoke with Ronaldo,” Gasperini said. “He's an incredible player, some even call him a problem.
"That’s a nice problem to have. He rarely gets it off target; half the time he scores, half the time it is saved.
“I told him, ‘You know what we say in Italy? Go to hell’.”
United's consistency has been a big issue for Solskjaer so far this season. The 5-0 defeat to Liverpool highlighted some glaring issues, though they took the first steps to remedying that humiliation by thrashing Tottenham 3-0 on Saturday.
That loss prompted Spurs to ditch Nuno Espirito Santo and appoint Antonio Conte, who had been rumoured to be a potential target for United if they elected to sack their Norwegian head coach.
It's the small matter of the Manchester derby up next for United, who welcome City to Old Trafford on Saturday. A win for the hosts would see the two teams go level on points, with the United looking to cut the gap on the current Premier League title contenders after a mixed start to the season.
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Source : 90min