Elanga hints he's been listening to Ronaldo at Man Utd with Oblak admission

The best students in school do their homework and the same goes for football.

Since his early days at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo has been keen to capitalise on his talent by studying the game while off the pitch.

And at 37, his dedication to his craft has rubbed off on plenty of teammates, the latest being Anthony Elanga.

The teenager's finest moment of his short senior career with the Red Devils came during Wednesday's dull 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League round-of-16, when he slotted past acclaimed goalkeeper Jan Oblak to equalise.

His goal means that United go into the second leg at Old Trafford in three weeks' time level, and not only was the strike a result of good play, but also from time Elanga had put in prior to the match in order to maximise his chances of making an impact from the bench.

Join the debate! Will Man Utd go through against Atletico? Let us know your prediction below.

"I always do my homework when I'm playing against other teams," the forward told MUTV post-match, having scored with his first touch after replacing Marcus Rashford five minutes earlier.

"He [Oblak] doesn't really like that other side. He comes out and leaves a huge space for me. Of course, it's my first touch of the game so I've still got to be composed and calm but I was able to slot it in, happy days."

And Elanga's studies paid off, latching onto Bruno Fernandes ' cutting pass to punish a rare defensive lapse from Diego Simeone 's side.

Bearing down on goal, the 19-year-old dragged the Slovenian stopper Oblak across his box, using the resulting space to slide the ball into the back of an open net.

Since he took over in December, Elanga has been somewhat of a revelation for interim manager Ralf Rangnick, who hopes more players - potentially even Ronaldo - can follow his shining example.

"He is playing as though it is a dream come true, it is a joy and fun to watch him play," the German coach told BT Sport.

"I wish a few other players would take him as an example and as a role model. Football is an important sport, even more so for the supporters, and it is a ball game. This is what I wish us to do especially in the second leg."

Rangnick added: "Anthony, in all the games he has played so far, just shows that he's playing with all the passion and all the fun and joy.

"He's just enjoying himself on the pitch. He's fully aware what his strength is and what his assets and his weapons are, and he's always trying to play and show those weapons. This is what he did again today [against Atletico].

"Not only with the goal that he scored, he had another two or three great runs. Whenever he did that, you could, all of a sudden, see that Atletico had problems with this kind of approach."