Nothing amiss for Ronaldo and United
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Article summary
Cristiano Ronaldo was unshaken by his penalty miss in Manchester United FC's 0-0 draw at FC Barcelona, saying: "Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't."
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'No problem'
Ronaldo fired wide from the spot in the third minute after Gabriel Milito had handled his header in the area, but he took the disappointment in his stride. "Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't," he said. "I missed a penalty - no problem. I'll try to score in Manchester. I'm always confident. I have 38 goals this season. It is not a problem if I miss one or two. I try to do my best in every game.
Occasional miss
"Since I have been in Manchester I have scored 15 or 16 penalties, I think, and missed two," the 23-year-old added. "I don't think it's a problem. No one has said anything to me because I always try to score, to play well. Today I missed a penalty, no problem. If in Manchester I have another penalty, I will try to score again."
Better to come
It was the nearest United came to a goal in a match the home side dominated without creating many chances. With the second leg to come at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Ronaldo is confident his side will prevail. "Barcelona played very well and kept the ball for a long time," he said. "I think we defended well. The team is very compact, squeezed, but we will try to play better in Manchester. Most of the time you create better chances, but Barcelona didn't create a lot of chances either.
'A different game'
"It wasn't the best game but in Manchester we will try to win," added the Portuguese international. "I'm sure the game in Manchester will be totally different. Barcelona won't keep the ball like they did today. I think we'll create more chances. It will be a different game and I'm sure we're going to play better. We are at home, we will have 75,000 people behind us. We will try to play good football and try to win."
Supportive team-mates
Ronaldo's team-mates rallied around the Portuguese forward. "What can you say about Cristiano Ronaldo? How many important goals has he scored?" defender Patrice Evra said. "I think for the return he will score one, maybe two goals." Wayne Rooney added: "He's an unbelievable player. His record speaks for itself. All the great players have missed penalties so let's not worry about it."
