Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United need fans to raise the roof against Atletico

Old Trafford came alive on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals helped, three points and three goals against a decent side, a direct rival.

The atmosphere was good, it could have been better and when Ralf Rangnick said he needs another 10-15 per cent from his players in Tuesday’s Champions League game against Atletico Madrid, he could have been speaking about the fans, too.

In 2018, United drew a game at the same stage in Seville and the Spaniards came back to Old Trafford for a must-win second leg. As Seville took control but the tie stayed at 0-0, United froze, both the team and the fans. Sevilla scored twice. United, the team and the fans, woke up when it was too late. United went out of the competition.

Old Trafford is louder than it was in 2018, the Red Army section in the Stretford End works and J and K Stand still have their moments, but there can’t be a repeat of Seville on Tuesday. United fans need to raise their game as much as the team does. If Atletico, the in-form champions of Spain, can quieten the home fans then it’ll help them.

Their Argentinian manager Diego Simeone, from a country where the atmosphere for an average league game makes most Premier League stadiums seem like a library, knows the value of fan support. Atletico’s were very loud in the home game against United, a game they feel they deserved far more than a draw from. They’re vengeful.

“I was impressed with the number of United fans in Madrid,” one Madrid based journalist told me last week of the 3,300 Reds in Spain. “But they were pretty quiet until the equaliser, then they didn’t stop singing.”

Again, United fans need to get in front of the team rather than waiting for the team to do something. Real Madrid made fans a priority last week