Cristiano Ronaldo cluth moment ensures it is Glory glory Manchester United but until when ?

The last two games before Villarreal there was no one to be there for Ole Gunnar Solksjær side and only twice in the last five games have they had moments like this one, but even needed a David de Gea penalty save to see out the first one against West Ham United.

Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Manchester United during the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester United v Villarreal at the Old Trafford on September 29, 2021 in Manchester United Kingdom (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Despite all the investment, it is safe to say the only game United have won comfortably this season was the opening weekend 6-1 victory over Leeds United, but even that encounter was so much about who scored the next goal when the score was level at 1-1.

For a side blessed with so much talent in the squad, it is disheartening that the Norwegian has yet to design an approach to make them convincingly dominate proceedings in games, and United still struggle to breakdown oppositions week in and out.

Who knows if he is not fit enough for the post, as he was never convincingly capable of driving the club forward before his appointment, and it could high time the United hierarchy realize the gamble has and will not paid off and move on.

For a man that was shown the exit door at Cardiff for an underwhelming stint which saw them relegated and started the 2014-15 season poorly in the Championship, and returned to Molde recording no success before moving to Old Trafford.

His time at United so far has been plagued by inconsistent, and the team crack at the most crucial stages of them all.

The effect of incapable management is inconsistent performance even for a club with the best players in the ranks because the team struggle in games, where individuals can not win it on their own.

Much of United's play and good moments under Ole Gunnar Solskjær has been down to individual brilliance and that highlighted why they lost out in so many semi finals and the Europa league final under the 48year old.

Against Villarreal, the Spanish side created the better chances and thanks to the heroics of David de Gea, who kept his side in the game until the later stages, for Cristiano Ronaldo's late strike to prove the winner.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United celebrates 2-1 during the UEFA Champions League match between Manchester United v Villarreal at the Old Trafford on September 29, 2021 in Manchester United Kingdom (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

United now have three points from two games in the champions league but the opening game loss to Young Boys can still haunt them later in the competition. However, until when will these special moments by individuals continue to secure Solksjær his job.

Gary Neville on Manchester United after the loss to Villa; “I said it even when they were winning, even when Ronaldo scored, they don’t play well enough as a team to win this league in my view. They don’t play well enough as a team.”

“I think you have to be a unit in and out of possession, and when you only deliver in moments, those moments won’t go for you in certain games. You need patterns of play, way of playing — I still see a group of individuals playing in moments.”

It is always interesting, moments like the one enjoyed at full time against Villarreal, the atmosphere was the same against West Ham at the Olympic Stadium but it should not be forgotten that there is a thin line between those moments and the one against Aston Villa.

If Manchester United hierarchy can not realize they can do much better than relying on where the game swings to in the later stages after having to struggle all game with the number of talented individuals on show, maybe the level of ambition should be questioned.

For the outsiders, it continues to look as though the next game will be the manager's last in charge if another slip up ensued but with the Hierarchy, the job seem secured notwithstanding the outcome of the next game and the ones after.

Until when will this continue at the club ? When top players get enough and decide to move on ? When the club suffers another early elimination from the Champions league ? Or when they still eventually finish the season without a trophy ?

Afolabi Kehinde Hassan