Energized by a change of manager and another opportunistic finish by Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a game to spare on Tuesday.
Another newly appointed coach sill has work to do, though, to get Barcelona into the last 16.
United was led for the first time by Michael Carrick following the weekend firing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, just like his predecessor, the interim manager was left to be thankful for a goal by the Champions League’s record scorer.
Ronaldo produced a sublime lobbed finish to put United ahead against Villarreal and a 90th-minute strike by Jadon Sancho — his first goal since joining for $100 million in the offseason — sealed a 2-0 win to secure progress as the winner of Group F. Ronaldo has scored in all five group games so far, and now has a record-extending 140 Champions League goals in his career.