Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo praised the Manchester United defence for their performance in the first leg of the teams’ Champions League Round of 16 tie. Ronaldo rose to score a majestic header midway through the first half, cancelling out Danny Welbeck’s opener to give Real Madrid a life-line to take to Old Trafford for the second-leg. Speaking to realmadrid.com after the game, the Portuguese international credited the Manchester United defenders for thwarting Los Blancos for most of the match. “It was a tough match. Manchester are very strong defensively and created us some problems,” Ronaldo noted. “We were able to score more goals. We created chances but not clear chances, we should have got another.” With the Red Devils sitting on a precious away goal, Jose Mourinho’s men have it all to do in the return leg, a game that Ronaldo confessed he was looking forward to. “Everything is wide open and I think we have a chance to go through at Old Trafford. We always have the initiative and we will go to try to win,” Ronaldo stated. “It is a club where I played for six years and I have a very special affection for them. I always want to win but I have respect for the people have given me so much.”