Will Cristiano Ronaldo miss the Champions League match against Manchester United?

Cristiano Ronaldo's first game for Juventus in the Champions League did not go as he or his fans would have hoped. He was sent off after 29 minutes on his return to Spain.

Against Valencia, in a group that has the likes of Manchester United and very entertaining Young Boys, it was important for Juventus to win the game and given CR7's record in the competition, a lot was expected from him.

The Old Lady did win the match but lost their talisman early and the red card created doubts for a dream return to his beloved Manchester United.

Although Ronaldo has had a tough start to life in Italy, not being able to score in his first 3 games with 23 attempted shots, everyone was expecting Ronaldo to score goals and win the game for Juventus at the Mestalla.

His record in the Champions League is unparalleled, having scored 120 goals in the tournament, he is the highest goalscorer of all time in the competition and the closest player to him, Leo Messi, is 17 goals behind him.

Ronaldo's presence in the team has made Juventus one of the favourites to win the competition for the first time in 22 years, with their last win coming in 1996 on penalties against Ajax.

Since then, they have lost 5 finals, with the last one coming against Ronaldo's former employees, Real Madrid, in 2017. Ronaldo has won 5 out of 6 finals that he has played in the Champions League so that stat itself is a boost for the Turin-based club.

The case in point

Ronaldo's stay on the pitch of Mestalla lasted just 29 minutes but his red card was a topic for debate throughout the match. Referee Felix Brych sent him off for alleged aggressive behaviour, after consulting with the referee on the sidelines.

The footage of the incident reveals that Ronaldo was doing something with the hair of Valencia's defender- perhaps tugging at it- Jeison Murillo that caught the attention of the referee and he interpreted it as an aggressive act. Cristiano Ronaldo was left baffled after seeing the red card for almost nothing and took his time to leave the field, in tears.

The emotion behind this could've been the reaction to being punished while being innocent or it could be the thought of missing the game against Manchester United.

What's next?

Cristiano's ban will be for one match but according to the new rules, UEFA can extend the ban to 2-3 matches as well. This is to be decided on 27th September by the UEFA committee and it is highly unlikely that his ban will be extended to more than 1 matchday, meaning that he is likely to face his former club at the Old Trafford and in Turin as well.