Ronaldo was axed from the Manchester United side that drew with Chelsea last weekend after he refused to come on as a substitute during the win over Tottenham a week ago.
He was also forced to train with the under-21 squad last week.
However, the 37-year-old was welcomed back to training on Tuesday after he held positive talks with Erik ten Hag about his rash decision and accepted his wrongdoing.
Ronaldo was then in from the off on Thursday as United faced off with Sheriff.
That strike was only Ronaldo’s third of the season but it proved to be his 15th goal of the calendar year and ensures a stunning statistic lives on for another year.
Manchester United won 3-0 and Ronaldo scored their third of the day in the 81st minute.
Ten Hag was also impressed with the forward’s perseverance on Thursday, saying: “He kept going, the team kept going to put him in the right position. He kept going to put himself in the right position. He didn’t give up. That’s his whole career. That’s why he’s so good and he got the reward for it.”
Manchester United now head into their final Europa League group game knowing they need to beat Real Sociedad by two goals to secure top spot, which would see them avoid the likes of FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the early part of the knockout stages.
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