The Red Devils play Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday and the left-back hopes that the emotional strain will be too much for the Portuguese forward to handle

Patrice Evra believes that Manchester United can use Cristiano Ronaldo’s love for the Premier League club to their advantage as they look to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League by beating Real Madrid on Tuesday evening.

The Portuguese forward has been a revelation for los Blancos since his €93.9 million move to the Bernabeu in 2009, scoring an incredible 136 goals in just 126 games and leading the club to the Spanish title last season.

The first leg of the round-of-16 tie ended 1-1 in Madrid, with the 28-year-old on the scoresheet, and Evra says that United must use the emotional occasion to their benefit to keep the former Old Trafford favourite from wrecking their hopes of a treble-winning season.

“It is difficult when you play with love,” the Frenchman told MUTV. “Cristiano will get a great reception on Tuesday because of what he achieved for Manchester United. The fans will never forget what he did. Also, he still loves the club.

“I remember after the game in Madrid we had a chat. He said it was going to be more difficult to come here. This is his house, so there will be a lot of emotion. I hope he doesn’t play well because of that. But Ronaldo is a winner. He is a big competitor. If he can win against Manchester United he will do it.”

Madrid are the Spanish title holders but currently trail rivals Barcelona by 13 points despite beating them in both the Copa del Rey and La Liga within one week, the Champions League representing Jose Mourinho’s best chance of winning a major trophy this year to appease disgruntled fans.