Real Madrid 1 Man United 1: Ronaldo explains decision not to celebrate

Cristiano Ronaldo says he chose not to celebrate scoring Real Madrid’s equaliser against Manchester United out of “respect” for his former club.

The Portugal international leapt above Patrice Evra to head home Angel Di Maria’s cross after half an hour to cancel out Danny Welbeck’s opener at the Bernabeu.

The 28-year-old said: “I didn’t celebrate the goal because Manchester was my home for six years and I was still a kid when I arrived there. It’s not about not celebrating, I want to win, but I respect the people from there.”

The result leaves the Champions League last-16 tie very much in the balance ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford next month.

But despite seeing his side concede an away goal, Ronaldo is confident about Madrid’s chances of reaching the quarter-finals.

“They made things difficult for us at times during the game,” added Ronaldo. “We made chances but we didn’t take them, but it’s still open.

“We’ll go to Old Trafford and we’ve got a good chance of going through. It’s not a big deal. We always take the initiative, and we’ll go there to win.”