Manchester United player ratings vs Sheriff: Varane 8, Ronaldo 7, Antony 6

Manager Erik ten Hag backs Portuguese star Ronaldo to play his part after missing out on move

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 7 Poor control after two minutes saw largely tame Sheriff fans get excited. United had dominance thereafter. Secure handling of 74th minute shot. Vocal towards his teammates during late Sheriff attacks. AP

Tyrell Malacia 7 Three fouls in the first 11 minutes, he’s feisty alright. Neat link up with Sancho down the left, where he had to be alert against the tricky Diop. An errant header inadvertently set up a 60th minute Sheriff attack. Switched to right when Shaw came on. AP

Lisandro Martinez 7 Vocal, aggressive, usually looks for the forward pass. United are leaning towards man marking when defending around the box – for the first time since a Ferguson team. Travelling fans sang ‘Argentina!’ in his honour – and again when he went off. He applauded back. AP

Raphael Varane 8 Solid and kept control of Rasheed. Licensed to move forward when Casemiro came on – and covered for him. His positioning is flawless – when Sheriff tried to cross he covered the area as well as his men. AP

Diogo Dalot 7 Losing possession led to an 11th minute Sheriff attack. Won the penalty which led to United’s second when he was brought down after 39. Pulled a ball back for Bruno to shoot at the start of the second half. Got into very attacking positions. EPA

Scott McTominay 8 Assertive and balances the midfield. Crisp, accurate passing. Prepares to defend when United attack. Pushed high, involved in the opening goal along with Eriksen – the pair played as a defensive two yet pushed deep into the Sheriff half. Ran into the box and played a dangerous ball across box on 42 as United controlled. Balanced AP

Christian Eriksen 8 He’s becoming an important United player. Assisted the first goal, swung a free-kick in after 25. Crossed towards Ronaldo on 56. A real threat. AP

Fernandes 6 The 600 travelling fans hollered “Bruno!” when he chased down a 43rd minute ball but not as effective as the players around him. AFP

Antony 6 Another involved in a fantastic opening team goal. Also capitalised on a poor goalkeeper’s kick to set to up Sancho on 36, but he’s still finding those quick feet with his new team. Team needs time to adjust and get used to his movements. Getty

Jadon Sancho 8 Dropped by England, he started and finished the move with put United ahead after 17 minutes, first with a throw to set off a fine team move. He finished Eriksen’s pass after he twisted to confuse the Sheriff defence. Thought he’d threaded a second goal on 36 – but it was blocked on the line. Played well. AP

Ronaldo 7 Starting the game delighted the locals. He appealed for a 14th minute penalty, struck a shot over on 32, then took a penalty to make it 2-0 and claim his first goal of the season. Sidefooted a 68th minute shot over after more positive build up and did well to set up Antony on 73. Getty

SUBS: Casemiro 7 On for McTominay at half time, the Brazilian needs minutes to get up to speed with his new team. Drops back when a central defender goes forward. Set a last minute attack up. Action Images

Shaw 6 On for Dalot on 68. He won’t be judged in games when he comes on when United are cruising, but, equally, he also needs minutes. AFP

Elanga N/A On for Ronaldo after 80. Couple of touches. AFP

Maguire N/A On for Martinez after 89. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo remains "totally committed" to the Manchester United project, manager Erik ten Hag said after the veteran forward scored a penalty in a 2-0 win at Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League on Thursday.

The 37-year-old Portuguese, in his second spell at Old Trafford, had begun to look surplus to requirements and a move away in the transfer window looked likely.

But the Portuguese, handed a starting spot in Moldova after being restricted to the bench in the Premier League, struck a first-half spot kick to register his 699th club goal.

Ronaldo's first goal of the season sealed a Group E win that was essential after United had lost their opening game at home to Spaniards Real Sociedad.

Ten Hag said Ronaldo still had a big part to play. "He's totally committed to this project, totally committed to this team, totally involved, he also has connections that are coming around him and he is constructing connections so I'm happy with that," said the manager.

"He has to work really hard and invest to get the right fitness. He will score more goals. He's really close, when he gets more fitness he will score more."

United player ratings from the victory in Moldova can be seen in the gallery above.