Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible hat-trick proved extremely crucial for Manchester United to keep their top four chances alive.
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Manchester United registered an important victory over fellow top four rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League to keep their Champions League hopes for next season alive. United twice took the lead but Spurs equalised on both occasions before Cristiano Ronaldo put the Red Devils in front for the final time to see out a thrilling 3-2 win. Ronaldo’s incredible hat-trick proved extremely crucial for the club to keep their top four chances alive. It also ended somewhat of a difficult spell experienced by Ronaldo in recent weeks. As for Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick, there were plenty of positives to take from the match.
“It was exactly the kind of reaction that we expected from the team after the poor performance in the second half against City. Coming back after two equalisers also showed the right mentality. We were really aggressive in those moments and also defended well in the last seven, eight minutes and in the end, I think we deserved to win,” Rangnick told MUTV, and other media.
“[The performance] was at least aggressive enough in the vital moments. I think we showed the desire to win that game and that was what it was about in today’s game. I told them before the game the team that wants to win more will, in the end, be successful.”
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Ralf Rangnick then went on to praise the hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo for producing a memorable outing when the club needed it the most. He also revealed what was his thinking behind letting Ronaldo start from the outset.
“He made the difference today for sure. But not only the three goals he scored, also his work rate against the ball when Tottenham was in possession was so far the best performance. Let’s just hope that he stays fully fit for the rest of the season and we see further games like this one from the whole team and also from Cristiano.”
“Well I didn’t expect him to score three goals, but I expected him to score. That’s why I decided to play him, although he only resumed training on Thursday. His training session on Thursday was so good that’s why I decided to play him from the start and not have him on the bench. In the end, it was the right decision.”
Rangnick also believes that United could have been better when Tottenham had the ball possesion. “Yes, we had moments [where we could improve] in the first half. In the first half, I think we were really good but we had many moments when they easily got into our penalty box. That could have been better but without Bruno, without Scott McTominay, it was not so easy in midfield. In possession, we were good but in their possession, we could have been better,” he explained.
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