Cristiano Ronaldo hit a superb hat-trick for Manchester United against Norwich to reach another impressive goalscoring milestone in his illustrious career.
For the 17th consecutive season, the 37-year-old forward has now surpassed 20 goals in all competitions — a run that stretches back to the start of the 2006-07 campaign, his first stint at Old Trafford. Across that period of time, Ronaldo has played for Man United, Real Madrid, Juventus and heading back to rejoin the Red Devils.
Ronaldo was quick out of the blocks to put United ahead against Norwich, sweeping home from Anthony Elanga’s cutback after seven minutes of play. And he doubled the advantage using his aerial prowess just after the half-hour mark, rising to head home to clinch his 20th of the season.
Norwich then mounted a comeback to take the gloss off of Ronaldo’s afternoon, with Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki wiping out the two-goal lead for Ralf Rangnick’s side. But United were always likely to retake the lead with Ronaldo on the pitch.
And he completed his treble with a rare goal directly from a free-kick, firing a powerful effort past Tim Krul to put United back in front with a 3-2 lead midway through the second half. It was an impressive effort from a player who had only successfully dispatched one of his previous 72 free-kicks as recently as March.
That goal also cemented Ronaldo’s name in another section of the Premier League history books. He has become the first player over the age of 36 to score 15 goals or more in a single Premier League season and, incredibly, notched his 60th career hat-trick with his goalscoring heroics against Norwich.
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Even if the Portuguese superstar faces an uncertain future at the club next season under incoming boss Erik ten Hag, the Dutchman will appreciate his knack for scoring goals at the top level is undeniable. Despite United’s underwhelming campaign, his tally of 15 goals has only been bettered by Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in the top flight this season.
The most he has ever managed in a single season is 61 goals in 54 appearances in the 2014-15 season. Unfortunately, he was rather overshadowed by Lionel Messi ’s incredible 90-goal haul in a calendar year in 2012 for Barcelona and Argentina when he got 60. But perhaps now, Ronaldo can have the last laugh — he has 12 more than his Ballon d’Or rival, who has struggled for goals since joining PSG last summer.
It comes in the same season that Ronaldo broke the all-time goalscorer record at international record, previously held by Ali Daei, having now scored 115 goals for Portugal in 186 caps. And another record he appears likely to hold onto is the Champions League ’s top marksman with 140 goals — 15 more than Messi.
