Ronaldo is all the rage as he dazzles on debut

ON THE opening day of the season 12 years ago, a teenage Ryan Giggs came off Manchester United’s bench and tortured Notts County with an opening-day performance those who were there will never forget.

For all the stars who have worn United’s famous red jersey since then, at no time has anyone come close to raising the same kind of high expectation as Giggs did on that summer afternoon. Until Saturday.

It is just as well Alex Ferguson has written the blueprint for how to handle young footballers because dampening down the expectation which now surrounds Cristiano Ronaldo will not be easy.