A double from Ronaldo and a goal each from Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard help United register their third league win of the season.
Follow Us
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his return to Manchester United with two well-taken goals, as the Reds defeated Newcastle United 4-1 in the Premier League at Old Trafford. Ronaldo’s goal at the stroke of half-time strike was precisely what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side needed after being frustrated by a dogged Newcastle side in the opening half on Saturday. Newcastle were on a mission to spoil the Ronaldo reunion party, which they partially did when Javier Manquillo equalised on 56 minutes following a brilliant counter-attack. Six minutes later, United produced a counter-attack on its own, largely thanks to Luke Shaw’s brilliant run, resulting in Ronaldo scoring for the second time in front of a jubilant Stretford End. A stunner from Bruno Fernandes and a neat finish from Jesse Lingard towards the closing stages helped United register their third league win of the season.
As Old Trafford collectively held its breath for the second coming of Cristiano Ronaldo, a cacophony of noise greeted the sight of the Portuguese star entering out of the tunnel on to the pitch. Within five minutes, Ronaldo was found inside the box by fellow Portuguese Fernandes. However, the ball just deflected off a defender to put Ronaldo off. On 10 minutes, the 36-year-old exchanged passes with the lively Jadon Sancho on the left and made a couple of stepovers, however, he could only find the side-netting.
On 19 minutes, Raphael Varane, making his home debut, had a good chance with a header from a Luke Shaw corner, but he narrowly flicked it wide. Soon after, Fernandes had two shots. First, he attempted to catch the goalkeeper out from his own half that went just over the bar, and another after he, Sancho, and Ronaldo collaborated well in the final third.
Despite the Reds dominating the possession, a stubborn Newcastle side held their ground firm. Out of nowhere, Greenwood’s shot from the right was spilled by Woodman, and Ronaldo was on hand to slam home from five yards out in first-half injury time as Old Trafford erupted in jubilation. It was a fortuitous goal, but neither the Old Trafford fans nor Ronaldo will be bothered about it.
The second half began as the first had ended, with United trying to break down the resilient Newcastle defence. However, the visitors, who looked lively on the break, surprisingly pulled level on 56 minutes. Ciaran Clark burst into his own half before finding Allan Saint-Maximin, who slipped the ball into Manquillo for the equaliser. Old Trafford was stunned but Newcastle’s joy was short-lived. Six minutes later, Ronaldo was back on the scoresheet. In a quick counter-attack, Shaw sprinted well towards goal and found the Portuguese skipper in the box, and Ronaldo made no mistake in a one-on-one situation. The stadium erupted again!
There was still time left for Fernandes to score a screamer from 25 yards out in the 80th minute. The fourth duly followed in injury time when substitute Anthony Martial dummied Paul Pogba’s pass into Lingard, who turned to curl the ball home from inside the penalty box. Manchester United have 10 points from four matches in the Premier League season and are currently sitting on top of the table.
