Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has lauded Cristiano Ronaldo's selflessness and work ethic amid criticism of the Manchester United forward's supposed selfishness.
Ronaldo nodded in United's winner to seal their 3-2 Champions League comeback win over Atalanta in midweek after some analysts questioned his running stats.
The 36-year-old has now scored six goals in seven starts since returning to United and Solskjaer emphasised on the evening of the Atalanta victory how Ronaldo's presence was key at both ends.
In his programme notes for the Premier League visit of Liverpool, Solskjaer claimed United 'made a big statement about our character' against Atalanta and praised the three goalscorers.
"The goalscorers embodied everything we wanted to see," Solskjaer wrote. "Marcus [Rashford] had a couple of opportunities come and go in the first-half and early in the second-half but kept his composure, kept at it and got us back into the game with a very calm, well-taken finish.
"That says everything you need to know about his mental strength - and the same goes for Harry Maguire, who only came back from injury last weekend but showed such a cool head to level things up with a clinical equaliser.
"Then Cristiano, after covering so much of the pitch, tracking back and showing his work ethic, popped up late on to demonstrate his class with a brilliant late header.".
