LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting lineup but Real Sociedad still upset Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in their Europa League opener on Thursday.
After failing to secure a transfer to a Champions League club, the star striker had to settle for playing in Europe’s second-tier competition for the first time since 2002 with Sporting Lisbon.
Ronaldo had last started in a 4-0 loss to Brentford on Aug. 13 before United chalked up four consecutive victories in the Premier League.
United manager Erik ten Hag had used the Portugal star off the bench during the winning streak. Before their opening group stage game, a minute of silence was held to pay respect to Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96 on Thursday.
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