Manchester United talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is excited for the challenge of facing Atalanta in Bergamo, Italy, and his return to a country he called home for three seasons.
Ronaldo faced Atalanta six times during his spell with the Old Lady and, in a mark of the opposition’s quality, he only achieved one victory in that run, also drawing four times and losing once. Cristiano scored three times and one of those strikes was in the Coppa Italia final last May.
Of course, Cristiano notched his second career win over Atalanta late last month when heading home the decisive goal in our 3-2 success at Old Trafford.
The return fixture takes place in Bergamo tonight and the 36-year-old can’t wait for the action to begin.
In a pre-match message to his 362million followers on Instagram, Ronny writes: “Back to Italy, a country that welcomed me and my family so well, an amazing place that will be forever in my heart.
“I know from experience that it’s never easy to play in Bergamo against a team such as Atalanta, but we will do our absolute best to keep the first place in our group.
“This is Champions League and we are Manchester United! We are where we belong! Let’s go, Devils!”
In the press conference on Monday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played down a suggestion that Ronaldo has something to prove to the Italian football community following his time at Juventus.
“No matter what game Cristiano is playing or Bruno is playing they know they've got a winners’ mentality,”said the boss. “They’re as highly motivated as a player or professional athlete can be.
“That’s why they get to the top level. It’s not about proving anything to anyone else but his team-mates, himself, his own club and fans.”