Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini has revealed the details of his full-time chat with Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester United superstar's late Champions League heroics.
Ronaldo scored a brace to help United pick up a crucial 2-2 draw away at Atalanta on Tuesday night, with his goals cancelling out efforts from Josep Ilicic and Duvan Zapata for the hosts.
The 36-year-old also fired the winning goal in the reverse fixture between the two sides at Old Trafford, and Gasperini was left bemoaning his "incredible" finishing ability after the final whistle at the Gewiss Stadium.
What's been said?
Gasperini was seen speaking with Ronaldo on the pitch following his stoppage-time equaliser, and divulged what he said to the Portuguese forward in a post-match interview.
"At the end of the match, I spoke with Ronaldo,” The Atalanta head coach told Sky Italia. “He's an incredible player, some even call him a problem.
"That’s a nice problem to have. He rarely gets it off target; half the time he scores, half the time it is saved.
“I told him, ‘You know what we say in Italy? Go to hell’.”
Ronaldo bails United out again
Ronaldo has now hit five goals in four Champions League appearances since his return to United from Juventus in the summer.
The veteran striker has almost single-handedly fired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side to the top of Group F, with Villarreal sitting in second on goal difference following their 2-0 win against Young Boys and Atalanta two points further back in third.
Ronaldo admitted that the Red Devils were slightly fortunate to avoid defeat in their latest outing, and has called for patience as they continue to try and rediscover a consistent streak.
"We never give up, we believe until the end, it is a good result for us," he said to BT Sport . "The beginning was tough, we knew Atalanta would do a lot of pressure, they have a fantastic coach, when I played at Juventus they were always difficult to play against. We were a little bit lucky in the end, but that is football.
"We still have to improve. We have different players, a different system - we have to adapt with each other, but it will take time. We have time to improve and be better."
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