ANDROS TOWNSEND insists he performed Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous Siu celebration ‘out of respect’ for the Manchester United man.
Townsend scored a second half equaliser for Everton as the Toffees earned a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
The former England international celebrated his 65th minute strike by doing Ronaldo’s trademark jump with his arms outstretched in front of the fans.
Townsend tried to talk to Ronaldo at full-time, but it appears the 36-year-old wasn’t in the mood as he issued a short response and barely looked at the Englishman.
Ronaldo then stormed down the tunnel.
Yet despite Ronaldo’s anguish, Townsend was quick to clarify that the celebration was done in admiration of the Portuguese legend.
Speaking after the game, the Everton forward said: “This guy is my idol.
“I grew up watching Cristiano Ronaldo and I spent hours on the training pitch trying to execute his techniques.
“Maybe I should have spent a bit longer on the celebration because it wasn’t great but it was out of respect for Cristiano and it is an honour to be on the same field as him.”
Ronaldo was dropped to the bench for the clash with Everton on Saturday but came on in the 57th minute, replacing Edinson Cavani to reach 200 Premier League appearances for Man Utd.
But he could not affect the game in the way he had hoped as Everton equalised and then looked the more likely side to snatch a winner late on.
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The result leaves Manchester United behind Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League table.
They have also picked up just one point from their last two home league matches following defeat to Aston Villa seven days ago.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now has two weeks to reassess before United return away at Leicester on October 16.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
