Manchester United Erik ten Hag showered praise on Cristiano Ronaldo after the striker scored his maiden goal of the season for the club. The Dutchman stated that Ronaldo is totally committed to the project as well as the team.

Manchester United secured their first win of the Europa League against Sheriff on Thursday after losing to Real Sociedad in their opening game. The Red Devils won by 2-0 at Zimbru Stadium with Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo scoring for the team.

Ronaldo scored from the penalty in the 39th minute of the game and Erik Ten Hag said that the Portuguese needed that goal, as it will definitely boost his confidence.

The talisman hasn’t consistently started for Manchester United this season but Erik Ten Hag named him in the first XI against Sheriff.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo had missed pre-season due to personal reasons and had played the final friendly match against Rayo Vallecano.

Erik Ten Hag said in the press conference, “I think (he is) totally committed to this project and totally committed to this team, totally involved. You see also connections coming around him and he is constructing connections so I am happy with that.”

Continuing the conversation on MUTV, Ten Hag added: “He needed that goal. He was close many times. You (could) see he wanted that so much (but) every time a foot was in between or it got a deflection or a misunderstanding. We’re happy for him and the team wanted him to bring the goal, so that’s good.”

“We could expect this when you miss pre-season so he has to work really hard and invest to get the right fitness then he will score more goals. You can see he is really close when he gets fitter he will finish them.

Ronaldo is a goal-scoring machine and his opening goal of the season must have given him a lot of confidence.