"You can’t respect reputations too much" - Premier League defender opens up on 'leaving one' on ex-Manchester United attacker Cristiano Ronaldo

Brentford star Aaron Hickey has revealed that his friends kept sending him clips of his tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo. He believes that the secret to playing well against top players is not letting their reputation come in the way.

Ronaldo started for Manchester United in their 4-0 thrashing at the Brentford Community Stadium earlier this season. The home side scored all four goals in the first 35 minutes of the match and gave the away side no chance of a comeback.

Hickey claimed he did not let the nerves kick in, and tackling Ronaldo at the start of the match helped. He was quoted by Football Scotland as saying:

"Sometimes you do get a little bit nervous when you're up against wingers that you've watched as a kid. It seems a bit mental at times. But I just try to get on with it and treat it like another game. When I was younger, I had that a bit when I faced Celtic or Rangers. And now I'm up against top Premier League wingers."

He added:

"Obviously, it was Ronaldo at the start of the season. And once the games kick off, my nerves disappear. People are always bringing up that challenge on him. All my pals keep sending me clips of the tackle, saying it was brilliant. I guess you can't really respect reputations too much. It's a game of football - you've got to do what you have to do. At the time, I just saw out of the corner of my eye that it was him and thought: 'I'll leave one on him'."

Hickey continued:

"But after it I went over to make sure he was alright! He's probably the biggest star I've faced. It's an amazing experience to come up against players like that. When I was in Italy at Bologna, the fans didn't know much about me or Scottish football. They just think aggression. They thought I was a hard man."

Manchester United and Brentford are battling for European spots

Manchester United are aiming for a UEFA Champions League spot for next season and know they have a good shot at finishing in the top four. They are third in the table with 12 games to go in the season.

Brentford have 11 games left in the season and are sitting eighth in the table. They have the opportunity to play in the UEFA Conference League but are also in with a shot for a spot in the UEFA Europa League.