Cristiano Ronaldo netted a stunning hat-trick to save Manchester United against basement side Norwich amidst a toxic atmosphere at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo had appeared to put United on course for a comfortable three points by netting twice inside the opening 32 minutes. His first goal came after just seven minutes and was a tap-in after the pressing of Anthony Elanga forced the mistake for the visitor’s defence and the Swedish forward laid it on a plate for his teammate to open the scoring. The second was a bullet Ronaldo header from an in-swinging Alex Telles corner – a rare set-piece goal for United this campaign.
Yet Norwich fought back and deservedly pulled a goal back before the break through Kieran Dowell and shortly after the break they were level after Teemu Pukki broke through a non-existent backline to fire home past David De Gea.
Ronaldo responded for United with just 15 minutes left on the clock as his long-range free-kick beat Tim Krul to restore United’s lead. Here are five talking points from a toxic Old Trafford atmosphere.
Ronaldo extends record
Cristiano Ronaldo – inevitably, now that he is aged 37 – was never going to be able to replicate the peak of his career following his return to Manchester United this summer. But his goal return has been more than respectable, with three more added to his tally this afternoon.
Have Your Say! Will Cristiano Ronaldo be in Man Utd's team next season? Tell us what you think here.
The Portuguese superstar netted twice in the first half – the first a tap-in after Elanga’s pressing, followed by an impressive leaping header from a Telles corner – to bring his tally for the campaign up to 20. That makes it 16 seasons and counting that Ronaldo has bagged 20 or more goals in a season, stretching all the way back to the 2006/07 year with United. He completed his hat-trick late on to save another dreadful team performance from being punished.
United fans lose patience
There was a huge protest ahead of kick-off at Old Trafford against the club’s Glazer ownership and the heated tensions ran into the game.
Large sections of United fans were mutinous during this clash and were quick to chant against their underperforming stars. This was most notable against Paul Pogba – out of contract this summer – who put in another anonymous performance. When his name came up to be substituted off, it was met with ironic cheers before loud boos – and sections of fans then audibly chanted “f**k off Pogba” as he made his way from the pitch.
Rangnick must be ruthless
Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard both started this game, but each is out of contract this summer. The same is true for Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic – second half substitutes who know their futures lie away from the club after this season.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick must be aware that continuing to lean on these players is less than ideal, and the majority of United fans would rather have players representing the team who have a future at the club. There may have been absentees today, but the majority of the supporter base would prefer if Rangnick had one eye on the future and to develop a team for his successor in the dugout.
Midfield madness
Manchester United’s midfield today started as: Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Bruno Fernandes. Two of whom are out of contract this summer and set to leave the club. Substitute Nemanja Matic has also confirmed he is leaving this summer.
Of course, Fred and Scott McTominay will be at Old Trafford next season but beyond that, and the returning James Garner, there is the need for serious investment. That has been obvious for some time, but the announcement of Matic’s departure means that at least two need signed.
For this game, the impact of the midfield was obvious. There was no deep-lying midfield to protect a defence with Pogba the furthest back. Lingard is more comfortable in a right-sided attacking role while Fernandes is the roaming playmaker. The inevitable consequences came to pass: United’s attacks were fun and with numbers but defensively, they were entirely exposed and imbalanced.
Now or never for Norwich
Four points from their last two matches had given the Canaries hope that they may be able to pull of a miraculous escape to avoid relegation. Yet they entered this game seven points from safety with just seven matches remaining – and a tough fixture run-in for the campaign.
After today, Dean Smith’s side still have four of their final six games against teams in the top half – with their double-header of games at home to Newcastle and away to Aston Villa perhaps offering their best opportunities of points. It increasingly feels that the Canaries ideally must collect at least four points from those games in order to have a real fighting chance of avoiding the drop, while games against West Ham and Leicester may be slightly more favourable with their opponents having European semi-finals to concentrate on.
