Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second Premier League hat-trick in three games to guide Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Norwich at Old Trafford on Saturday, cementing the club's bid to qualify for the Champions League.
Discussions about the Portuguese icon's influence at United have swirled in recent weeks, with the Reds - 20 points away from rivals Manchester City - rapidly set to miss out on a top-four finish that will earn them a place in the next Champions League. Season.
Yet a perfect weekend for Ronaldo and United saw both top-four competitors Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur suffer losses as United moved up to fifth place with six games remaining.
After scoring his 806th career goal en route to a hat-trick against Spurs in March, Ronaldo faced a rough afternoon at Everton in his next league game after a loss and an incident involving a young fan's mobile phone.
The 37-year-old was on the scoresheet within five minutes against Norwich, having tapped home after teammate Anthony Elanga dismissed defender Ben Gibson near goal.
Their second goal in the first half, a trademark lead finish from Alex Telles' corner, put United in the driving seat, but two quick goals on either side of half-time from Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki once again exposed United's defensive weaknesses. exposed. ,
Dowell and Pukki were both abandoned in an acre of space before the conversion, as the side table sat downstairs.
Trademark Ronaldo?
In many ways, the winner was the signature Ronaldo - a brilliant free-kick to cap a hat-trick and secure a vital victory for his team. And yet the fact that it was made via a free-kick has, in recent years, been distinctly un-Ronaldo-like.
Ronaldo had not scored a straight goal for Portugal since September 2020, despite a career highlight reel of a free-kick goal.
Yet the 37-year-old returned in years against Norwich, hitting a disastrous strike in front of Tim Krul to score his first free-kick since returning to United in the most critical of circumstances.
With 15 Premier League goals for the season, he is now only behind Liverpool's Mo Salah (20) and Tottenham's Son Heung-min (17) in the scoring charts.
No other United team-mate has breached a double-digit mark in the league, with teammate and compatriot Bruno Fernandes finishing second to the club with nine goals.
After the game, United coach Ralph Rangnick praised Ronaldo's "significant" influence.
"He was as important as Tottenham today," Rangnik told reporters.
"The second and third weren't just easy goals, the way he took those goals ... was just excellent."