Antonio Conte claims Manchester United wouldn’t have had a good if had Cristiano Ronaldo missed the game against Tottenham.

Man United secured a top 3-2 win over Spurs on Saturday, just the kind of response they needed to recover from last weekend’s embarrassing 4-1 loss to Manchester City.

Speaking of the Manchester derby, Ronaldo missed the tie with a hip flexor injury that forced him to travel to Portugal on the day of the Manchester derby.

In his absence, Manchester United got trounced 4-1 by their local rivals at Etihad, with Jadon Sancho scoring United’s only goal.

The 37-year-old returned back to the starting lineup against Tottenham and scored a hat-trick that helped United get all three points off their fellow top-four rivals.

Speaking after the match, Antonio Conte told Sky Sports: “I honestly think without Cristiano Ronaldo, for Manchester United it wouldn’t have been a good night.

“We’re talking about a player who not only tonight showed he is a top, top player.

“Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi are the two best players in the world in this era. When you play against this type of player, they’re decisive.”