Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick rescues Manchester United

Sport

12-03-2022, 22:30

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INA - SOURCES

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 leveled the game, was moved out of position and in came Ronaldo for the kill.