Jadon Sancho produced the perfect response to being left out of the England squad as he scored in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol to help get their Europa League campaign up and running
 it was vital United bounced back in Moldova and first-half goals from Sancho (17) and Cristiano Ronaldo (39) ensured they did just that
Sancho finished off a fine move with a scuffed effort on his left after Christian Eriksen's reverse pass, before Ronaldo scored the 699th goal of his club career - and first of the season - from the penalty spot on a comfortable evening for Erik ten Hag's side
"Ronaldo needed that goal," Ten Hag told 
 "Many times he came close, but he wanted that so much
 We are happy for him and the team wanted to bring him a goal
 You know that Cristiano will score a penalty
"The win - United's third in a row on the road - moves the Premier League side up to second in the group behind Sociedad, while Sheriff drop to third but are level with United on three points
United were second best in the opening stages of Thursday night's game in Moldova, but managed to open the scoring 17 minutes in, as Sancho finished off a slick move for his third of the season, dedicating his goal to a young fan who had gifted him a pair of personalised shin pads
Sancho was inches away from doubling his tally and United's lead 37 minutes in after being picked out by Antony, when his side-footed effort beat Sheriff goalkeeper Maksym Koval only to be stopped on the line by captain Stjepan Radeljic
Just two minutes later, Ronaldo doubled United's lead from the penalty spot, sending Koval the wrong way as he went straight down the middle after a clumsy challenge by Sheriff defender Patrick Kpozo on Diogo Dalot
Bruno Fernandes, who cut a frustrated figured all evening, tried to get in on the act in the second half, but his first-time effort after a low cross from Dalot was straight at Koval in the Sheriff goal
Ronaldo thought Eriksen had teed him up for goal number 700 of his club career only for Radeljic to produce a vital touch to take the ball away from the 37-year-old international, who could only look up at the sky in disbelief
Sheriff showed glimpses of quality in their build-up play, but failed to carve out any clear-cut chances or test David de Gea and it seems clear after two games that it will be Sociedad and United fighting for top spot, with the final match of the group in Spain set to be decisive
England manager Gareth Southgate's decision to leave Jadon Sancho out of his final squad prior to the World Cup raised a few eyebrows on Thursday
Jack Grealish and Jarrod Bowen making the cut ahead of him did not do anything to help that
 Sancho's three goals this season is superior to the tally of the selected pair combined
Sancho, who has been rejuvenated under Erik ten Hag this season, proceeded to turn up the pressure on Southgate a couple of notches with his timely performance against Sheriff just a few hours after the announcement
The former Borussia Dortmund forward has been kept out of the England picture for almost a year
 Even when he was in the squad for the Euros, Sancho was restricted to one start throughout the tournament
Clearly, he has work to do to convince Southgate of his quality before the World Cup
 But now he can't do it in person with the England group, it leaves Sancho with a steep mountain to climb
It feels as though, at this stage, Sancho would have to produce something quite incredible to get a spot on the plane to Qatar - and even then, Southgate still might go with his favourites
Meanwhile, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, the two United players to be picked by Southgate, had to settle with coming off the bench
 In Maguire's case, he was brought on in the final minute of the game
"That [the World Cup] is one of the targets
"It is unfortunate that I didn't get the call-up but I have to keep focusing on myself and keep working hard, week-in and week-out
"So that is what I am going to do
""Difficult start, the opponent played direct and we lost too many second balls at the start of the game
 I think when we found a better formation, especially over the left side, we began to play between the lines and scored a great goal
 From that moment on, we dictated the game totally
"The reason we have another clean sheet is that we were good in possession, but also because we defended really well
 With Raphael Varane in there as the leader, he puts everyone in the right position, and he fits together really well with Lisandro Martinez
 The two full-backs also did their job really well
"I'm really pleased with Sancho
 Another goal, and he scored already many goals in pre-season, now this is his third goal in the season
 But also he was involved in Bruno Fernandes' goal at Southampton
"He's doing well, but I think there is much more room for improvement for him because he has so much skills to bring on the pitch
 So when he has more belief I think he can be more productive
"Ronaldo needed that goal
 Many times he came close, but he wanted that so much
 We are happy for him and the team wanted to bring him a goal
 You know that Cristiano will score a penalty
"Manchester United have a two-week break from action now, with their Premier League match against Leeds - planned for Sunday - postponed along with two other top-flight matches next weekend
Erik ten Hag's side return to action on October 2 when they face neighbours Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, live on Sky Sports with kick-off at 2pm
United's next Europa League venture comes four days later against Neil Lennon's Omonia from Cyprus
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