Cristiano Ronaldo was saved from a pitch invader who was wrestled to the ground by stewards following Manchester United's comeback win over Atalanta.

The over-excited fan got on the Old Trafford pitch at full time and made a beeline for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner who scored United's vital third goal on an epic night of football.

Stewards spotted the fan jump the barrier and chased him down as he approached Ronaldo.


Manchester United's number seven had his back to what was going on and got something of a fright as the man reached him and grabbed for his shirt.

But as the supporter made contact he was quickly wrestled to the ground by stewards.

Cristiano Ronaldo was saved from a pitch invader who was wrestled to the ground
Cristiano Ronaldo was saved from a pitch invader who was wrestled to the ground 
Image: 
Peter Powell/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ronaldo reacted by holding his hands up in surprise before realising what was going on and smiling at the scene behind him.

The former Real Madrid and Juventus star extended his record as the top goalscorer in the Champions League with an important effort as United fought back from two goals down on Wednesday.

Atalanta opened the scoring with a tap-in after carving open the Red Devils defence before extending their advantage with a powerful header from a corner kick.


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But United battled back in the second half with Marcus Rashford eventually halving the deficit.

Harry Maguire drew the scores level as the Red Devils continued to pile on the pressure and it wasn't long before a Luke Shaw cross into the box found the head of Ronaldo, who made it three.

"I was really, really pleased with how he led the line," said Solskjaer of Ronaldo after the match.

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"As a centre forward we asked him to run the channels, drop in, press more because we're at home, of course. We want to get the crowd behind us.

"Even he was down inside his own six-yard box towards the end defending, you could see him sprinting. He did everything a centre forward should be doing, leading the line and defending. And of course, the goal is just what he does better than most."