MANCHESTER United's 3-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday was the perfect antidote after being left disappointed and under some pressure after a heavy defeat by Liverpool last week, forward Cristiano Ronaldo said.

United came into the contest in north London on the back of a 5-0 hammering by their bitter rivals Liverpool that heaped the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but goals from Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford sealed a comfortable win.

"We knew before the game that we had a tough week after a result that we didn't expect," Ronaldo told Sky Sports. The team was a little bit under pressure, a little bit sad, but we knew we could give a good answer.

"We played good, started well. Of course my job is to help the team with my experience, my goals, my assists and I did that and I feel so pleased. In terms of the team, it was an unbelievable performance."

Ronaldo, who scored a superb volley before setting up Cavani in the second half, said he was delighted the team could snap a poor run of four games without victory.

"The criticisms are always there," Ronaldo said. "It doesn't bother me because I have played 18 years of football, so I know that one day people will say 'we're perfect' and another day they will say 'we're crap'.

"I know that and we have to deal with that, but it's always better when the people praise you and they are happy with you. Sometimes life is like that, sometimes we have to pass through bad moments and we have to change and we changed today."

United rose to fifth in the standings with 17 points from 10 matches. They visit Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday.