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MANCHESTER. — Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took aim at those that criticise Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort after the Portuguese star’s goal lifted Manchester United to victory on Wednesday night.

The Manchester United boss was full of praise for his star forward after defeating Atalanta in the Champions League.

Ronaldo scored late to seal a stunning 3-2 comeback for Man Utd, who took down Atalanta despite going down 2-0 in the first half.

The legendary forward, who was joined on the scoresheet by Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire, has been criticised in recent weeks for his workrate and defensive effort, but Solskjaer says Wednesday night’s winner is indicative of just how good Ronaldo is.

“He had chances in the first half but Marcus kept on going,” Solskajer told BT Sport. “He got a knock but he is going to be very important for us. It was instinctive finish from Harry. I don’t think you would have expected him to score that one.

“And Cristiano is great in front of goal. If anyone wants to criticise him for effort and work-rate just watch this game. Watch how he runs around.”

Solskjaer went on to add: “I was really, really pleased with how (Ronaldo) led the line. Run the channels, drop in, press more, we wanna get the crowd behind us.

“He was down inside his own six-yard box at the end, you see him sprinting, he did everything a centre-forward should do. And the goal is what he does better than most.”

Ronaldo rejoined Man Utd this summer, returning to Old Trafford after originally leaving to join Real Madrid in 2009.

He’s scored six goals in eight games since the move, with three of those goals coming in Man Utd’s three Champions League matches.

Meanwhile, former Manchester United star Paul Scholes was not impressed with his side’s remarkable comeback victory in the Champions League against Atalanta, warning the Red Devils cannot afford a similar performance against their English Premier League rivals.

For the second game in a row in Europe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men rallied from a losing position to take all three points late on, winning 3-2 having trailed 2-0 at half time.  Scholes though believes that there is much work to be done, particularly after their display during a tough opening 45 minutes. — Goal.com.