Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed David de Gea as the "best goalkeeper in the world" following his heroics in the stunning Champions League win over Villarreal.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck in the 95th minute to lift United past Villarreal 2-1 in a last-gasp comeback at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

United were fortunate to be on level terms at half-time – De Gea producing a number of saves to thwart Villarreal in a rematch of last season's Europa League final.

Paco Alcacer did find a way past De Gea in the second half, but Alex Telles' sublime volley and Ronaldo's stoppage-time winner ensured United opened their Group F account following the club's matchday one defeat.

Following a difficult 2020-21 campaign, criticism in the wake of the Europa League final loss to Villarreal and doubts over his future after Dean Henderson's return to the Theatre of Dreams, Solskjaer lauded De Gea.

"A very difficult game against a very good team. First half, we had lots of possession, but they counter-attack really well, transition, attack quickly and created some big, big moments in the game," Solskjaer said during his post-match news conference.

"Thankfully, we had the best goalkeeper in the world tonight. David was fantastic and very happy with his performance. Second half. They had more of the ball. It was still open and they deserved to lead.

"But, you know, Old Trafford is magic, Champions League, Old Trafford, sometimes that history can help us. And tonight, Cristiano [Ronaldo], of course, came up with a good goal. And Alex [Telles] scored a fantastic goal."

On De Gea, who made six saves, Solskjaer added: "You are probably right that he had a difficult summer after that [final with Villarreal]. Of course, he went to the Euros, didn't play there, but he's really come back with a determination and work rate that I've enjoyed. And today he got this again.

"He got a deserved outcome because he's saved us. Tonight, we have to be realistic and say that without David, of course, we've got two very good keepers with Tom [Heaton] and Dean [Henderson], but today David deserves the man of the match."

United have lost only once in their last 13 home games in all European competition (W10 D2), with Ronaldo the first Red Devils player to score a 90th-minute winner in the Champions League since Marouane Fellaini against Young Boys in November 2018.

Ronaldo (36 years and 236 days) became the second oldest United player to score a goal in European competition at Old Trafford after Bryan Robson (36y 282d) against Galatasaray in 1993.

No player has scored more 90th-minute winning goals in Champions League history than Ronaldo (three) – level with Sergio Aguero.

It comes after United superstar Ronaldo, who made his 178th Champions League appearance, broke the record for most games played by a single player.

Diogo Dalot said: "When you add Cristiano to the team, it's always a plus. Like I said, many times, he's a fantastic player on and outside the pitch. He gives us energy. But we are a proper team.

"We give to Cristiano as well to help have these moments. Like we saw many times he can be very decisive until the end. But today was a team effort until the end. And we're so glad that Cristiano could score that goal at the end."

Cristiano Ronaldo repeated his desire to make history with Manchester United after his stoppage-time strike helped the Red Devils sneak past Villarreal 2-1 in the Champions League.

Paco Alcacer had given Villarreal a deserved lead at Old Trafford before Alex Telles' stunning volley preceded Ronaldo's 95th-minute winner in front of the Stretford End on Wednesday.

With the late strike, Ronaldo became the first United player to net a 90th-minute winner in the Champions League since Marouane Fellaini in November 2018.

And Ronaldo, who surpassed former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas to become the Champions League's outright appearance holder in his 178th match, expressed his delight at being back in Manchester.

"Everything is open and we believe we can go through [the group]," five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo – who won the Champions League with United in 2008 – told BT Sport.

"This is why I came back because I miss this club, I made history here and I want to do it again.

"I have to say thank you not only from me but from all the team for pushing the team so far this season."

Ronaldo became United's second oldest scorer at home in European competition (36 years and 236 days) after Bryan Robson (36y 282d) against Galatasaray in 1993.

Ronaldo's late heroics also ended a run of four draws against Villarreal, who suffered their first defeat in 18 games – having won 12 and drawn five of their previous matches.

The win gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United their first win in Group F following the matchday one defeat at Young Boys.

United are due to meet leaders Atalanta in their next Champions League fixture on October 20.

Sacking Ronald Koeman would be the easy way out for Barcelona, with Sergio Busquets calling on the players to take responsibility for their "critical situation". 

Barcelona were on the receiving end of a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, meaning they have lost their first two matches of a European campaign for only the second time in their history. 

Darwin Nunez put Benfica in front after just three minutes at the Estadio da Luz and the Uruguayan added a second from the penalty spot after Rafa Silva doubled the Portuguese side's advantage in the second half.

Barca finished the game with 10 men after Eric Garcia was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Goncalo Ramos. The Catalan giants have now lost four of their past five Champions League games, conceding 14 goals in the process. 

Calls for Koeman to be relieved of his duties will surely intensify after another disappointing result, but Busquets believes the fault does not lie solely with him. 

"It's the easiest thing in the world of football [to sack the coach], but the responsibility also belongs to the players. We are in a critical situation," Busquets told Movistar. 

"We have zero points. You have to think about moving upwards because there is no other option. 

"We have to win both games against Dynamo Kiev and see what the other teams do. There is a lot left [to play for] and we have to try to be positive." 

Frenkie de Jong made his 100th Barca appearance in the meeting with Benfica and despite the shock defeat does not think getting rid of Koeman would turn the club's fortunes around. 

"I can't talk about Koeman, it's not for me. I don't think changing the coach can solve anything," he said. 

"We are trying everything, working hard in training. We tried our best on the field but today was not the day, that is clear. 

"We have to keep fighting, be together, overcome this situation because you only escape from situations like this when you work hard and are united as a team.  

"We have lost and we have not scored. We are in a very difficult situation. We have to continue and look forward."

Ronald Koeman believes he retains the backing of Barcelona's players but accepts his future is not in his own hands after the club's embarrassing 3-0 Champions League defeat by Benfica.

Barca followed up their 3-0 matchday one loss to Bayern Munich by an even more humiliating defeat as they left Lisbon on the end of another three-goal defeat on Wednesday.

It means Barca have lost the first two matches of a Champions League campaign for the first time ever and leaves them bottom of Group E.

On top of that, Barca have now lost back-to-back group-stage matches for the first since 2000-01, while Benfica's win equalled their biggest ever in the competition.

Barca have been in turmoil ever since Lionel Messi's departure was confirmed last month and their situation has been exacerbated by the financial issues that had threatened to consume the embattle LaLiga giants for months.

Wednesday's defeat came a matter of hours after LaLiga confirmed Barca's salary cap spending limit for 2021-22 had been cut by €280million to just €97m, only the seventh-highest in Spain's top flight, highlighting the plight they find themselves in.

"I am not going to discuss the level of this team," Koeman told reporters after the Benfica loss.

"Everyone knows what Barca's problem is today. It's not possible to comment on a team that is not the one of past years. For me this is clearer than water.

"I cannot say anything about my future. I feel very supported by my players and their attitude, but I don't know what the club thinks.

"It's not in my hands, and that's why I don't want to answer anything about my future. We will see what happens. I accept the world in which we coaches live."

Barca found themselves 1-0 down in the third minute but created numerous chances to equalise before the break, with Luuk de Jong and Frenkie de Jong wasting glorious opportunities.

According to the expected goals (xG) metric, Barca would ordinarily have expected to score 1.4 goals on Wednesday – while that was still less than Benfica's 1.9, it is evidence of their wastefulness.

But the Portuguese hosts were clinical. Rafa Silva effectively put the game beyond Barca deep into the second half and Darwin Nunez added to his opener with a late penalty to compound the visitors' embarrassment, and Koeman accepted the responsibility.

"In the end, the culprit is the coach," he continued. "I think that during many phases of the game the approach was good.

"I understand that after going 2-0 down we had more problems. But I think we had opportunities to score two goals. We have been inferior in effectiveness, not over the course of the match.

"We are at a time where we have to change many things and there are many people missing. I don't think there's any need to repeat this."

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes said he always believed the Red Devils could win after Cristiano Ronaldo's stoppage-time winner completed a stunning 2-1 Champions League comeback against Villarreal.

United were staring at back-to-back defeats to start their Group F campaign when Paco Alcacer gave visiting Villarreal a 1-0 lead in a repeat of last season's Europa League final at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Villarreal upstaged United in the Europa League decider, but they were unable to shock Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's underperforming side again as Alex Telles equalised with a spectacular volley on the hour before Ronaldo sparked wild celebrations via his 95th-minute strike.

It was a largely frustrating night for United in Manchester, where the Premier League giants relied on some spectacular goalkeeping from David de Gea to remain in the contest, however stand-in captain Fernandes was always confident of a result.

"I always thought we could win, even after they scored," Fernandes, who wore the armband in the absence of injured skipper Harry Maguire, told BT Sport.

"I felt we could always come back into the game and turn it around. After the goal of Alex everyone feels the atmosphere, it was unbelievable. The push from the fans was incredible.

"Some big saves from David who helps a lot to keep us in the game.

"After that at the end Cristiano, strikers always have the feeling to score, and he had it once again."

United have lost only once in their last 13 home games in all European competition (W10 D2), with Ronaldo the first Red Devils player to score a 90th-minute winner in the Champions League since Marouane Fellaini against Young Boys in November 2018.

Ronaldo (36 years and 236 days) became the second oldest United player to score a goal in European competition at Old Trafford after Bryan Robson (36y 282d) against Galatasaray in 1993.

No player has scored more 90th-minute winning goals in champions League history than Ronaldo (three) – level with Sergio Aguero.

It comes after United superstar Ronaldo who made his 178th Champions League appearance – breaking the record for most games played by a single player.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lauded Cristiano Ronaldo for his late winner against Villarreal, saying "there's always a chance" when the Manchester United star is playing.

The Portugal captain made history on Wednesday as he made his 178th Champions League appearance, breaking the record held by Iker Casillas.

The 36-year-old marked the occasion with a 95th-minute goal to give United a 2-1 victory over Unai Emery's side and avenge their shoot-out defeat in last season's Europa League final.

Villarreal had not lost a game in normal time since a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid on the final day of last season, and they fully deserved their lead at Old Trafford when Paco Alcacer converted Arnaut Danjuma's cross.

Alex Telles blasted home a superb volley to level the scores before Ronaldo got United their first Champions League points of 2021-22, firing low past Geronimo Rulli after being teed up by Jesse Lingard.

"That's what happens here at Old Trafford. It's happened so many times before," Solskjaer told BT Sport. "Of course, we had to throw caution to the wind, and we got lucky in the end.

"They're a very, very hard team to beat, they've not lost since way before the [Europa League] final, and they've played some good teams.

"It's a difficult one because we're at home, we want to win, but they play so well that if we don't go and press them, they'll be happy enough sitting off.

"Sometimes, it's not about pass there, pass there. It's the crowd – they've sucked a few balls in before. When you've got Cristiano on the pitch, there's always a chance.

"He's so, so good in front of goal. He has an impact on everyone: the crowd, the players, the whole club.

"It's massive for the players to win games in this fashion after we lost the [Villa] game in that fashion. It's great."

Lingard showed great poise to control Ronaldo's header down from a Fred cross before presenting him with the chance to win the game, and Solskjaer admitted the England international probably deserves to be playing more often.

"Jesse was probably not happy at not playing more," he said. "But he comes on, he makes an impact. That's what you do when you're a sub at this club."

Julian Nagelsmann hailed Bayern Munich's greediness as they crushed Dynamo Kiev 5-0 in Wednesday's Champions League clash.

Bayern cruised past embattled Barcelona in the Bundesliga champions' European opener before consolidating their perfect start in Group E with their fifth win in as many European home games against Dynamo.

Robert Lewandowski fired in a brace – his second goal representing his 119th strike in just 100 games for Bayern – before Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting completed the rout midweek.

Nagelsmann has now won nine of his first 10 games in all competitions – the best start by a Bayern head coach – but the highly rated German boss still wants improvements from his side.

"For a long time I'm already satisfied," Nagelsmann told DAZN post-match. "It's never easy to keep your concentration high if you lead early. There are still things that can be done better.

"It was symptomatic that the players always wanted to keep going. It's about this greed. To have it in both directions, and we showed this greed today. In the phases in which it might have tipped, the concentration was there."

"The most important scene for me was when [Dayot] Upamecano cleared the ball in the 89th minute and celebrated that we were keeping a clean sheet.

"That was an important step that the guys are so happy about. A zero for the opponent in the result just looks better."

Sane had been whistled off against Cologne by the Bayern supporters in September and Nagelsmann was pleased to see his winger's response as the hosts remained relentless in their thrashing of Mircea Lucescu's Ukrainian outfit.

"It's important for every person, for every footballer, to have a clear head," Nagelsmann continued.

"It's good to just let him [Sane] do his thing. He plays more central with me than last year. That's good for him, he has space there. He is an outstanding player with a very good character."

Chelsea looked slow, tired and lacked freedom in their defeat to Juventus on Wednesday, according to Thomas Tuchel. 

Despite having over 70 per cent possession, the Champions League holders went down 1-0 to Juve after Federico Chiesa scored the 10 seconds into the second half at Allianz Stadium. 

It was the earliest second-half Champions League goal in Opta records and made Chiesa the first Italian to score in four successive starts in the competition for Juve since club legend Alessandro Del Piero in 1997.

The Blues managed just one shot on target – a tame first-half attempt from Romelu Lukaku – across a disappointing defeat that gave Massimiliano Allegri's side the upper hand in Group H. 

"Of course, it is impossible at this kind of level to concede a goal like this in the first seconds of the second half. When you know what's coming and you have defensive organisation like we had, it's normally at all times possible to defend it. We got punished for it," Tuchel told BT Sport. 

"I think we started not sharp enough. We had possession but in the first 12-15 minutes we could have harmed them much more, we could have been much sharper and putting the rhythm up high. 

"There were so many spaces, we could've put many more dangerous balls into their box and asked more dangerous questions. We had a lot of ball possession, we had many high recoveries. 

"We had two crucial ball losses where we almost gave goals away. You cannot have this in this level – it was without any pressure. 

"We struggled to create our own rhythm because they were so deep and passive. We struggled to find our intensity. it's not an easy thing to do to find the spaces, to know exactly where to accelerate and maybe accept ball losses but only in the last 20 metres. But we were lacking runs behind the last line. 

"We were so good yesterday in training and not good enough, not free enough today. I don't know why. It was a thing for the whole team. I felt us a bit slow, tired, mentally slow for decision-making. It's a strange one to analyse."

Chelsea have now lost each of their past five away Champions League games against Italian sides and suffered successive defeats in all competitions for just the second time during Tuchel's tenure. 

Juve appear to have finally turned a corner since Allegri's return, meanwhile. They are 10th in Serie A but now sit three points clear at the top of Group H and have won four of their past five matches. 

"Sailors always find their way out when they are in a storm," Allegri said to Prime Video. 

"It was a good match against the European champions. Technically, we could have played better, but we did not suffer a lot and missed a couple of counter-attacks. 

"Two games, six points, zero goals conceded. It's another step towards qualification – a good step forwards." 

Cristiano Ronaldo struck in the sixth minute of injury time to give Manchester United a 2-1 Champions League victory over Villarreal.

In a repeat of last season's Europa League final, won by the LaLiga side on penalties after a 1-1 draw, the Red Devils found themselves deservedly behind when Paco Alcacer scored early in the second half.

Alex Telles levelled with a spectacular volley, and it looked as though these sides would share the spoils for the fifth game in a row in this competition, but Ronaldo drilled past Geronimo Rulli to send Old Trafford into raptures.

The result at least will ease some of the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, although plenty of concerns will remain after another disjointed display in which his side were indebted to David de Gea in goal.

Ronald Koeman reached a new low as Barcelona were beaten 3-0 away to Benfica on Wednesday, making it the first time in Champions League history that the Blaugrana have lost the first two games of a campaign.

Barca were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Bayern Munich on matchday one and this was every bit as humiliating as the Catalans lost back-to-back group games in a single season for the first time since 2000-01.

A nightmare start quickly gave them an uphill battle as Darwin Nunez put Benfica ahead in the third minute, and although Barca were soon dominating, they were extremely wasteful in front of goal.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen got away with a dreadful error early in the second half but Benfica held firm at the back and eventually seized their opportunity to finish Barca off through Rafa Silva and a late Nunez penalty before Eric Garcia saw red to cap a dreadful night for Koeman.

Garcia offered little resistance as Nunez earned Benfica an early lead, the Uruguayan producing a couple of stepovers before finding the bottom-left corner.

Barca quickly began to dominate in response, but a fantastic Lucas Verissimo block prevented Luuk de Jong from finding an empty net.

Frenkie de Jong was similarly wasteful when prodding a low cross wide from close range, and Pedri – a surprise starter so soon after injury – shot agonisingly past the left-hand post a little later.

Ter Stegen summed up Barca's poor decision-making early in the second half, bizarrely opting to rush out in an attempt to cut out a throughball and was beaten to it, but Nunez could only hit the post.

Luuk de Jong then somehow hit the upright from point-blank range at the other end, though an offside call against Ronald Araujo in the lead up spared his blushes somewhat.

Either way, Barca were made to rue their profligacy.

Silva slammed home from 10 yards after Ter Stegen parried a shot right to him and Nunez made it 3-0 with a cool penalty after Sergino Dest handled, with Garcia's late red card for a cynical tug compounding Barca's embarrassment.

Robert Lewandowski scored a double to fire Bayern Munich to a 5-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev in Wednesday's Champions League clash.

The Poland forward netted from the penalty spot to open the scoring at the Allianz Arena after 12 minutes, before adding his second 15 minutes later as he curled past Georgi Bushchan.

Serge Gnabry fired in the hosts' third after the interval before Leroy Sane caught the Dynamo goalkeeper off guard at his near post to score the fourth.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting rounded out the scoring with Bayern's fifth to consolidate their Group E top spot as they look firm favourites to progress through to the next stage after two wins in as many games.

Viktor Tsygankov volleyed the first chance of the contest narrowly wide before Bushchan tipped over Lewandowski's header but problems followed from the resulting corner.

Serhiy Sydorchuk was adjudged to have handled inside the area, with Lewandowski coolly rolling the spot-kick home before Thomas Muller setup the second.

The German forward's throughball teed up Lewandowski, who found the bottom-right corner to score his 119th goal in his last 100 matches for Bayern.

Sane's left-footed drive struck the post eight minutes later, with Manuel Neuer forced into a rare save against Carlos de Pena on the stroke of half-time.

Lewandowski hooked wide as he looked for his hat-trick after half-time, with Gnabry then missing the target with a simple header following Alphonso Davies' delivery

However, Gnabry made amends on a rapid counter-attack as he smashed in off the underside of the crossbar following an offload from Sane, who added a fourth after 74 minutes as he whipped in from the left flank and caught Bushcan by surprise.

Choupo-Moting added a fifth as he headed in from Benjamin Pavard's cross as Bayern cruised to their ninth win in nine games in all competitions.

What does it mean? Bayern set early Group E pace

Bayern dominated against Barcelona in their opener and carried on emphatically against the Ukrainian Premier League champions to maintain their Group E lead.

The Bundesliga outfit collected their 33rd win in 35 home group-stage games with a comfortable victory as Barcelona went down to Benfica to offer Nagelsmann's side an early advantage after two games.

Meanwhile, Dynamo remain in third, with just one point from their opening two and Mircea Lucescu's side will need to find some form if they are to mount a charge for the knockout stages.

King Kimmich

Joshua Kimmich controlled proceedings from start to finish in another classy display for Bayern.

The midfielder misplaced just four of his 90 attempted passes, with a game-high 60 of those coming in the opposition half as he enjoyed a game-leading 109 touches.

Terrible Tymchyk

Oleksandr Tymchyk picked up a needless first-half caution for a late challenge on Sane and was treading on thin ice from then on.

Mircea Lucescu hooked the right-back off at half-time following a poor showing in which he won less than 15 per cent of his seven duels as he struggled against Bayern's wealth of attacking riches.

What's next?

Bayern host Eintracht Frankfurt as they return to Bundesliga action on Sunday, while Dynamo are at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on the same day.

Federico Chiesa stunned Chelsea at the start of the second half and earned Juventus a 1-0 victory in Wednesday's Champions League Group H clash. 

Chelsea failed to make their dominance of the ball count in the opening period and just 10 seconds after the restart Chiesa fired Juve in front at the Allianz Stadium. 

The reigning champions continued to labour when going forward and a trio of substitutions just after the hour mark failed to spark them into life. 

Juve were comfortable in seeing out a victory that handed their hopes of going into the last-16 as group winners a significant boost. 

Chelsea exposed themselves to counter-attacks by giving the ball away –  Chiesa flashing an effort narrowly wide after seizing upon a stray pass from Mateo Kovacic and surging forward in the 20th minute. 

Despite controlling possession for the entire opening period, the Blues got no joy from focusing their attacks through the middle of the pitch. 

Juve made an explosive start to the second half, with Chiesa's thumping effort deflecting slightly off Antonio Rudiger before beating Edouard Mendy.

Tuchel sent on Callum Hudson-Odoi, Trevoh Chalobah and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Chelsea would have fallen further behind in the 64th minute had Federico Bernardeschi managed to turn Juan Cuadrado's cushioned pass on target from six yards out. 

Chelsea switched to a four-man defence and continued to push for a goal, but Romelu Lukaku failed to take their best chance under pressure from Leonardo Bonucci.

A late appeal for handball from the visitors was deemed insufficient for a penalty by the VAR and Kai Havertz sent a stoppage-time header over as Juve went three points clear at the top of the group. 

What does it mean? Italy unkind to Chelsea again 

Chelsea do not appear to enjoy travelling to Italy in the Champions League. Their past five matches on Italian soil in the competition have ended in defeats – a run that stretches back to 2009-10. 

Their loss to Juve means the Bianconeri have now defeated the European Cup/Champions League title-holders on seven separate occasions – only Real Madrid (11) have managed more wins.

Chiesa unlocks the defence 

Chelsea were caught sleeping after the interval and Chiesa's strike became the earliest second-half goal in Opta's Champions League records. 

What Ziyech?! 

The Blues needed more width throughout the game and Hakim Ziyech was a disappointing outlet in wide areas. He gave possession away 13 times and only one of his eight crosses found a team-mate. 

What's next? 

Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge for a Premier League meeting with Southampton on Saturday, while Juve are away in the Derby della Mole against Torino in Serie A on the same day. 

Romelu Lukaku is being misused by Chelsea and the Blues could be the best team in Europe if they utilise him correctly, according to Antonio Conte. 

The Belgium star returned to Stamford Bridge for a club-record £97.5million fee from Inter in the close season, having scored 24 goals in 36 Serie A games during last term's title-winning campaign under Conte. 

The 28-year-old has managed four goals in seven outings in all competitions for the Blues, including the winner against Zenit in their Champions League opener. It made him only the second player to score for two English clubs on debut in the competition after Mario Balotelli. 

However, Conte believes Thomas Tuchel can get more out of his new signing to make Chelsea the best team in Europe. 

"He [Romelu Lukaku] is a very specific striker," Conte told Sky Sport Italia ahead of Chelsea's Champions League clash with Juventus on Wednesday. 

"Bringing Lukaku into the box, he is dangerous. However, when he starts from midfield, he is incredibly quick. It is very difficult to find a player who is a target man but can also run from midfield. 

"The good thing about Romelu is that he can hurt you anywhere. If you keep him far away from the penalty area, he can kill you with his pace. If you have him in the box, he has the physicality to be a target man. 

"Last season, they didn’t have a proper centre-forward, so they rotated positions, whereas Romelu is a real reference point in attack. If they can figure out how to use Lukaku, Chelsea can become the team to beat in the Champions League this season." 

Indeed, Lukaku has gone from strength to strength following his first goal for Chelsea against Arsenal in his 16th appearance for the club, nine years and 360 days after his initial debut. 

But Conte insists Lukaku, who last term became the only player in the past 15 Serie A seasons to have at least 20 goals and 10 assists in a single campaign, can offer more for Tuchel if the Blues utilise him correctly. 

"He is a generous, one who also gives you assists," Conte continued. "This is Lukaku's specific [talent], which I also see in [Erling] Haaland. 

"He still has room for technical improvement, but he has already reached very high levels. He can improve in some phases of the game, he needs to be switched on sometimes. 

"He is impressive, he is one of the most difficult forwards to face. He must always be played, but at Chelsea they have not quite understood how to use him." 

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the starting line-up for Manchester United against Villarreal, meaning he will break the Champions League appearance record.

The Portugal international will lead the line for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

That will give him his 178th appearance in Europe's elite club competition, surpassing the number of outings made by his former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas.

Ronaldo is already the Champions League's all-time record goalscorer, with 135 strikes from his previous 177 appearances for United, Madrid and Juventus.

While he played in United's opening Group F game at Young Boys, a surprise 2-1 defeat, this will be Ronaldo's first Champions League game at Old Trafford for United since an April 2009 tie against Arsenal. 

Elsewhere, United have had to embark on a defensive reshuffle with captain Harry Maguire out injured and right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka suspended. 

There were hopes Luke Shaw would be able to be involved, but he was unable to make the matchday squad. Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles consequently joined Raphael Varane in defence.

Further forward, Jadon Sancho replaced Fred in a line-up filled with firepower up front.

It is about time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer delivered trophies for Manchester United despite the progress he has already made since taking charge of the club.

That is the view of the United manager's former treble-winning team-mate Teddy Sheringham ahead of the Red Devils' key Champions League clash with Villarreal on Wednesday.

Although they have made the latter stages of multiple competitions and finished as high as second in the Premier League, United have not won a trophy for four seasons.

An impressive transfer window that saw the Old Trafford club sign World Cup winner Raphael Varane, long-term target Jadon Sancho and returning hero Cristiano Ronaldo raised expectations for them in 2021-22.

But after a bright start, the past fortnight has seen United lose to Young Boys in their Group F opener, crash out of the EFL Cup at the hands of West Ham and suffer their first league defeat of the season to Aston Villa.

Sheringham believes Solskjaer will deliver much-needed silverware but thinks the Norwegian can have few complaints about the expectations.

Asked if it was time for Solskjaer to step up as a manager, Sheringham told Stats Perform: "Without a doubt. 

"You only have to look at the signings that Manchester United have made this season.

"Looking at Varane, Sancho and then Ronaldo becoming available, and then they got him as well – it was just unbelievable. 

"But that increases the pressure for Ole, and he knows that. He's in charge of the biggest football club in Europe, maybe even the world, and he knows he has to win things. 

"The pressure is there for them to win things, and I'm sure they will this year as it's about time.

"There's been steady progression for the club over the last two or three seasons, but it's about time they won something."

United need a positive result against Villarreal to get their campaign on track in the Champions League. 

The four previous Champions League clashes between United and Villarreal have all finished 0-0, making it the most played fixture in the history of the competition to see no goals scored.

United also suffered a painful Europa League final defeat to the Spanish side on penalties last season.

Despite being one of the biggest clubs who typically qualify for the Champions League, United have not got past the quarter-finals in Europe's elite club competition for a decade.

"It's tough," added Sheringham. "When you look at Sir Alex Ferguson and his record in the Champions League, it didn't happen overnight.

"It was again a steady progression. They got to the quarter-finals, got knocked out, got to the quarter-finals, then they got to the semi-finals, and then they won it. 

"So, if Ole can gain the experience, the players that he's got there, if they gain the experience along the way, then hopefully everybody's ready to win it. 

"Then you need to get a little bit of luck when you need it, and you come out on top."

While he hopes United will get there, Sheringham is more confident that the other English clubs could dominate the competition this season after Manchester City and Chelsea contested in an all-English final last year.

He added: "I think they [English clubs] will [dominate again].

"I expect probably three of those four English teams to get into the semi-finals – that is how dominant English teams are at the moment.

"We were talking about the chances of Manchester United and I don't really think they are one of the best teams in England at the moment. 

"You have to say that Manchester City [have a chance], Chelsea without a doubt, and Liverpool will also feature as well very high."