Cristiano Ronaldo: A dream homecoming in a win over Newcastle United
Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard joined the goalscoring party as Manchester United win 4-1 at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores a brace as Manchester United routs Newcastle United 4-1 at the Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard also joined on the score sheet.
Cristiano Ronaldo Euphoria at Old Trafford
Manchester United fans would not have been this happy since winning the premier league title in 2013. Since that famous title win in the last season of Sir Alex Ferguson, United has fallen off the top drastically. Although the most successful English club of all time had won Europa League and FA Cup in the last few years, it never appeased the demands of fans at Old Trafford. With the Europa League final loss against Villareal last May, the fans of the club wouldn’t have dreamt of such a day they had yesterday, at the time.
The Old Trafford was buzzing yesterday, waiting for the arrival of the prodigal son out on the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo was starting the match yesterday against Newcastle United. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer told in his pre-match press conference that Ronaldo was not bought to be on the bench. It was a jibe at Thomas Tuchel, who previously stated Lukaku was bought to start on the field, not on the bench, about the Manchester United players Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane starting on the bench.
Ronaldo has a dream homecoming
The crowd at Old Trafford erupted as Ronaldo’s name was called out by the announcer. In the eleventh minute of the game, Ronaldo sent the United fans back in time. Taking the ball in the left wing of United’s attack, near the penalty area, Ronaldo produced a beautiful fake-shot stop to put a defender off, then did a few step-overs as he entered Newcastle United’s box to unleash a left-foot shot into the side netting. However, the number 7 had a few little changes throughout the first half. He was roaming around the center of the pitch, making a few walls passes here and there, like a jab of a boxer, analyzing the vulnerabilities of the opposition.
In the stoppage time of the first half, Greenwood let off a left-foot shot from the right-hand edge of the penalty box. The ball took a deflection off a defender before reaching the goalkeeper. Woodman, who did not expect the deflection, fumbled the ball inside the 6-yard box. There he was, like a lion waiting to pounce on its prey. Cristiano Ronaldo was the only Manchester United inside the box anticipating a mistake. The number 7 tapped home his 119th goal for the red devils. He did his customary ‘siiiuuu’ celebration in front of a packed Old Trafford and the fans followed. United was 1-0 ahead in the game going into halftime.
Ronaldo to the rescue
In the 56th minute of the game, Newcastle United stunned Old Trafford with an equalizer as Manquillo finished off a beautiful move courtesy of Almiron and Saint-Maximin. Solksjaer was looking to bring on some changes to try to get a goal back. However, the man to save United’s day was already on the pitch wearing the number seven on his back. Luke Shaw dribbled through the midfield of Newcastle United on the break and played a neat through ball for Ronaldo. The 36-year-old took a neat first touch to place it perfectly for his left foot to shoot. He fired off a shot in between Woodman’s leg to score his second of the night. The Old Trafford went Euphoric again.
Bruno Fernandes gave United a breathing space with an absolute stunner. The Portuguese midfielder let go of a powerful curler to remind the crowd at the stadium that he too was still there. Shortly after Jadon Sancho was taken off and was replaced by Jesse Lingard. Meanwhile, Anthony Martial took the place of Bruno Fernandes. Lingard rounded off the scoring after combining with Pogba and Martial to give Manchester United a resounding victory.