Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo returned strongly with Manchester United, scoring the three goals in his team’s 3-2 victory over its guest Norwich City, enhancing the chances of the “Red Devils” with a European seat following losing rivals Tottenham and Arsenal once morest Brighton and Southampton, respectively, with the same result 0-1, in the 33rd stage competitions. From the English Premier League football Saturday.
At Old Trafford, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for United (7, 32 and 76), while Kieran Doyle (45 + 1) and Finn Timo Pukki (52) scored two goals for Norwich.
With this victory, the “Red Devils” jumped to fifth place with 54 points, similar to the sixth Arsenal, and three points behind Tottenham, who remained fourth.
The “Red Devils” must prepare well for the next two difficult matches, as they are a guest of Liverpool and Arsenal, respectively.
For his part, Norwich remained bottom of the standings with 21 points.
United managed to open the scoring early, specifically in the seventh minute, following Swede Anthony Ilanga extracted the ball from the defenders, to pass it to Ronaldo, who put it past Dutch goalkeeper Tim Kroll.
The Portuguese returned to double his yield and scored his second personal goal following rising to a corner by Brazilian Alex Telles, and he met it with an elegant header into the net (32).
And in the first minute of the calculated time instead of lost, Norwich reduced the score following a cross from Pukki, Doyle met it with a header that settled into the net (45 + 1).
Norwich ignited the match at the beginning of the second half, following Pukki received a through pass to be unique to Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea, and hit the ball into the net, realizing the tie (52).
Doubts were raised regarding the validity of Norwich’s goal due to the possibility of offside, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) confirmed it.
After the draw, United imposed almost absolute control of the match.
The referee awarded a free kick for United on the outskirts of the penalty area, and Ronaldo fired an unstoppable shot, scoring his third goal and the match-winning goal.
It is the 50th hat-trick for Ronaldo during his professional career with clubs.
“Ronaldo scored three very important goals for us,” De Gea said following the match. “We know we’re not playing well, but we got three points.”
Heavy fall for Tottenham and Arsenal
United’s victory came following Brighton scored a rare victory at Tottenham, with a goal that weakened the latter’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
While Tottenham were looking for a fifth win in a row to keep them away from Arsenal, who lost last week once morest Brighton in particular, Belgian Leandro Trossar scored a killer goal that gave the visitors the victory in the last minute.
Tottenham’s tally of 57 points from 32 games. And following losing his European hopes following six consecutive losses, Brighton Ten, who lost a month ago once morest Tottenham with two goals at home, continued his uprising following two wins once morest the north London teams Arsenal and Tottenham, who aspired to a fourth place in qualifying for the Champions League, an achievement that only Hull City made in the Premier League in October / October 2008.
Italian coach Antonio Conte’s squad failed to break Brighton’s defense with international strikers Harry Kane and South Korean Son Heung-min. While the match was breathing its last, Trossar made a single effort and ended the attack on the ground once morest the veteran French international Hugo Lloris (90).
Shortly following that, Arsenal, who played a game less, was hoping to compensate for two losses in a row and catch up with Tottenham, but it fell once more once morest Southampton 0-1 with a Polish goal by Jan Bednarek (44).
The “Gunners” have scored only two goals in their last four matches in the league, while they have conceded eight goals. This indicates that the problem is not only a lack of offensive efficacy, but a defensive breakdown.
With this loss, Arsenal fell to sixth place with 54 points and a game less, while the door remained open for West Ham to put pressure on United, Tottenham and Arsenal, in an attempt to beat its guest Burnley on Sunday.
In another match, Brentford beat Watford 2-1.
