Ronaldo's remarkable gesture for Old Trafford pitch invader

If Manchester United fans needed any more reasons to love Cristiano Ronaldo then he delivered at Old Trafford with a wonderful gesture for a pitch invader.

Stewards were kept on their toes after United’s 1-0 defeat to Ronaldo’s new side Juventus, in their Champions League Group H match.

A number of fans, obviously desperate to get up close and personal to the man who shot to stardom in Manchester, stormed onto the pitch to get selfies with Ronaldo.

Most were ruthlessly tackled to the ground by security and promptly escorted out of Old Trafford.

However, one lucky fan’s risky decision to invade the pitch paid off handsomely after he was afforded the opportunity to pose in a photo with the superstar.

Ronaldo could be seen in video footage pleading with the stewards to let the fan go, before grabbing the man’s phone and taking a snap of the pair together.

Another pitch invasion also interrupted the contest mid-match, when a supporter somehow leaped over the advertising hoardings and ran out onto the field.

Comical scenes ensued as the man was tackled to the ground metres before reaching Ronaldo.

Pinned by a number of stewards, the fanatical supporter desperately tried to crawl towards the Portuguese ace, who reached out to give him a handshake.

Ronaldo’s winning return to Old Trafford came courtesy of Paulo Dybala as Juventus was 1-0 in a dominant display.

Dybala’s 17th-minute goal, a simple conversion after a low cross from the right by former United favourite Ronaldo, proved decisive but the Italian champions could have returned home with a much more convincing margin.

United’s Spanish keeper David De Gea made a series of good saves including an excellent effort to keep out a second-half strike from Ronaldo.

Paul Pogba struck the post with a left-foot effort from outside the box in the 75th minute but Jose Mourinho’s side struggled to create openings against a superb Juve defence.

United defender Luke Shaw said they allowed Juventus too much time on the ball in the first half.

“I think first half we gave them too much respect, coming here to Old Trafford, I think we let them play far too easy,” Shaw told BT Sport.

“That cost us the goal.”

Shaw’s teammate Victor Lindelof believed United were worthy of at least a point.

“We played against a very good team with very good players, it was a tough game but I think we deserved better than to lose.”

City, Madrid, Bayern grab important wins

First-half goals from David Silva and Aymeric Laporte were added to by substitute Bernardo Silva as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City thumped Shakhtar Donesk 3-0 away in Group F.

City captain Silva warned his side were getting better with every game.

“We could have scored a lot of goals, so at the end to score three, we are happy with the three points and now we look forward to the next game,” the Spaniard said on BT Sport.

“I think we are playing better in every game. If we play like this we will get more points.”

In Spain, hosts Real Madrid beat Plzen 2-1 thanks to a headed goal from Karim Benzema (11th) and a cool finish from Marcelo Vieira in the 55th minute.

But the Czechs fought back with a goal from Patrik Hrosovsky in the 78th minute to give local fans a few nervy moments at the Bernabeu.

Real held on for a far-from convincing win which takes them joint top of Group G with AS Roma on six points after three games

Bayern Munich scored twice in two minutes to beat hosts AEK Athens 2-0 to climb to the top of their Champions League Group E.

Javi Martinez volleyed in after 61 minutes and Robert Lewandowski tapped in their second goal two minutes later for their second win in three group matches.

“We played a very good game and dominated the opponent,” Bayern coach Niko Kovac said.

“In Athens you just can’t win 4-0 or 5-0. We did not take advantage of our chances in the first half but the win was deserved and it was a very good performance.”

In Bern, Champions League debutants Young Boys scored their first goal and picked up their first ever point in the competition with a deserved 1-1 draw at home to Valencia.

In other matches Roma thrashed CSKA Moscow 3-0, Ajax beat Benfica 1-0 with a goal from Noussair Mazraoui in added time while Hoffenheim drew 3-3 with visiting Lyon.

With AAP