Neville hate to play against Cristiano

Gary Neville admits he would hate to play against Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. The pair combined in clinical fashion last night as the Red Devils ended a near three-year away drought in the Champions League to defeat Benfica 1-0 and put themselves on the brink of qualification for the knockout phase with four games to spare.

It was certainly a very different experience to the one United endured in the Stadium of Light last season - when defeat heralded an embarrassingly early European exit.

After an awful performance then, Ronaldo delivered a 'one-fingered salute' to the home fans, who had jeered him throughout because of his previous affiliation to Sporting Lisbon.

A similar gesture from the 21-year-old last night would purely have been to signify the margin of victory - because this time, Ronaldo rose above the abuse to deliver a mature performance which deserved man-of-the-match honours.

In sharp contrast to the troubles which seem to be affecting Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo is thriving spectacularly this term - showing all the confidence and maturity Sir Alex Ferguson predicted when the new campaign first got under way.
With Neville confidently expecting the Madeira-born star to become one of the world's best, the United captain is just happy not to have to face him on a regular basis.

"If Cristiano does not go on to become the player he should there is something wrong," said Neville. "He has incredible talent, and I would hate to play against him.He is so unpredictable - and even though he didn't score against Benfica, his constant running took the pressure off our defence."

By the final whistle, even the home fans had realised the futility of their barracking - as Premiership supporters have started to do on the domestic front.

The abuse Ronaldo has received for his part in England's World Cup downfall seems only to have spurred him on, just as it did Neville's close friend David Beckham when he returned from France as public enemy number one in 1998.

"Cristiano will always fight back and he is at the right club to do it," said the veteran England defender."Manchester United fans have always rallied round their own - and if you asked them, even the supporters who have been giving him stick at away grounds would accept he is the kind of player they want to see."

"He has had his difficulties, but you have to remember how young he is. To leave home and come to England at 18 must be extremely hard. It is not something I would liked to have done. Yet he has come through that experience, and some of his performances this season have been absolutely fantastic."

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