Ronaldo Might Be Provoked

Cristiano Ronaldo must be wary of provokation, according to Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Portuguese winger will return today at Goodison Park after serving a three-match ban for his dismissal against Portsmouth. On that occasion, Ronaldo did something that is not typical of him: he retaliated after several offences.

'Without question it is a big plus for us,' Ferguson said of Ronaldo's return. 'You miss players like him who make a difference. His goalscoring is something we have been missing.'

But he admitted that his winger is in danger because he might be provoked in an attempt to get him sent off again.

'It's a possibility,' he said. 'But it's up to Ronaldo to control himself. It is only helping them by reacting to it but you have to look to a strong referee who can sense the mood of the game.

'We've got some better video footage of the Portsmouth game and Ronaldo's hardly done anything. The guy got him round the neck and the referee just stood there. As soon as he realised it was Ronaldo it was a red card. But it was unusual for Ronaldo; he normally has a good temperament to handle it.'

Hopefully he'll retain that temperament: he'll need it.

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