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Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to lift Manchester United into fourth place and himself top of FIFA's all-time scoring list.

It had been a quiet 2022 for Cristiano Ronaldo, an aching hip and a nagging fear that time and the pressing patterns of the contemporary game were slowly catching up with him, although for one evening at least this was an occasion dominated by the famous No 7.




A hat-trick to win it for Manchester United in a game crucial to their hopes of a top four place, and a performance that once again suggested they are lost in this interim identity crisis. They do not play as a coherent force over the course of the game in a way that even Tottenham Hotspur have learned to do under Antonio Conte, but they are still able to thrive in the key moments and no-one seizes them quite like Ronaldo.
His winning goal was one of the classics, a great driving run through the penalty box traffic to get his head to a corner. The bruising Spurs centre-half Cristian Romero, who had played his part in the goal with which Spurs had levelled the game, was moved out of position and in came Ronaldo for the kill.

This was the 49th hat-trick of his club career, three more goals to throw on the pile and perhaps more poignant for the knowledge that these days are running out now in the dusk of his career. He strutted off with seven minutes left and Old Trafford in raptures, the face betraying no emotion but doubtless all the old certainties he has about himself reaffirmed.


A lean time since the turn of the year for the great goal-accumulator, who now stands as the most prolific of all time. His third on the evening was the 806th of his senior professional career which placed him ahead of Josef Bican, a 1930s Austrian-Czech goalscoring wonder.



Just one goal in 10  for Ronaldo before this game, and the usual tells in his game that he was struggling with what that might mean for his own sense of self. He may also have been battling his dismay at the shortcomings of this United team, often unimaginative and dragged back to 2-2 with an own goal from their embattled captain Harry Maguire.

When United kicked off after that, Ronaldo could be seen flapping his arms and expressing a general dissatisfaction that was not unfamiliar. He was right about the performance although it was not all Maguire’s fault. Marcus Rashford was a peripheral figure, Paul Pogba drifted in and he drifted out.

There will be no pleasure taken by Maguire in having to be rescued by a team-mate who is unlikely to be a lifetime friend but this is where United are for now. A team that walk a fine line between triumph and despair, although one cannot argue with the drama that accompanies their every move.

Cristiano Ronaldo leaps to head home his third goal 

Beaten out of sight by the leaders Manchester City last Sunday, United are back in the race for fourth – in that position currently, albeit having played four more games than Arsenal two points behind in fifth. United do not play in the league again for three weeks and had they failed to win this one their final remaining margin for error might already have expired.

Ronaldo would later chat post-match on the pitch with the great NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who had come to watch. The now-retired Brady is the sporting hero of Harry Kane, to the extent that one of the Kane family pet dogs goes by the name of Brady, but on this occasion Kane could not quite live up to the Ronaldo contribution. Spurs’ No 10 scored a fine penalty, his 10th goal in 13 league games which marked a landmark of his own.

His 94 career away goals equal the Premier League record. Caught on the ankle by Pogba late on, this was another game in which Kane watched the fortunes of Spurs fluctuate – from the 5-0 win over Everton on Monday to another defeat.

United were without Bruno Fernandes, struck down by illness, and Scott McTominay who had developed a calf injury. The hip flexor injury that precluded any involvement from Ronaldo at the Etihad Stadium last weekend had gone and so too Ralf Rangnick’s plans to pair two alternatives to his famous No 7 up front.


When Ronaldo launched his right foot hit from around 25 yards in the 12th minute, afforded just too much time to align the sights, it was just his second goal since the turn of the year. There was an inspired flick from Fred and then a run by the Brazilian for a return ball that was never going to come.

United had started well but it soon felt like the effort was slowing and by the time Kane swept in that penalty with ten minutes of the first half to play, Spurs were playing better. They ended the game with 57 per cent of the possession and United’s counterattacking was their best hope.



Manchester United 3 Tottenham 2 – MATCH REACTION

Ralf Rangnick had admitted that managing Cristiano Ronaldo can be ‘challenging’.

He said: “It is challenging and it is a challenge with a player like him, but he showed today that he’s still got the quality to play for a club like Manchester United, but he’s also a part of the team.

“If we want to be successful at the end of the season we can only do it together.”

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