This is how the myths of ordinary gamblers stand out, and how prides answer the whispers of decline. After three weeks of absence, after months of debate around his influence on the inconstancy of Manchester United and vice versa, Cristiano Ronaldo returned Old Trafford to a forgotten incandescence by being the hero of an essential victory over Tottenham (3- 2), scoring a hat-trick full of class and character.
The Portuguese, who celebrated his 37th birthday on February 5, especially celebrated his 805th, 806th and 807th goals, which make him the top scorer in the history of the game according to FIFA statistics. From Saturday night, England started calling it CR807.
Spurs have been pretty interesting (“We didn’t deserve to lose” as Antonio Conte will say), but they had just one shot on target and no one could have resisted that Cristiano Ronaldo. A shot from 25 meters in the top corner (12th), a goal from close on an offering from Sancho (38th), then, when Tottenham had managed to come back twice thanks to a penalty from Kane (35th) and a own goal from Harry Maguire (72nd), the Portuguese rose above the simple players to give victory to MU with a header from a corner from Telles (82nd).
Under the eyes of Tom Brady
If Ralf Rangnick took him out at the end of the match, this time it was to give him the ovation from Old Trafford, and it still lasted for long seconds when Ronaldo walked from the stand to the tunnel changing rooms, imperial, greeting the public with a proud but almost closed face, as if he wanted to convey the message of his wounded pride of the last few weeks.
Under the eyes of Tom Brady, another champion who defied time with his seven Superbowls and his recent retirement at 44, the man with 807 goals once again heard Old Trafford singing “Viva Ronaldo” with passion. “He comes back, he scores three goals and everyone is happy”, admired Paul Pogba, now with a shaved head. Ralf Rangnick, his coach, told the genesis of the return of the Portuguese, who was injured in a hip and absent in the derby against City (1-4): “Since I arrived, it’s his best performance. He showed a lot of energy, he took part in the collective effort to defend. I didn’t expect him to score three goals, but I expected him to score. He only resumed training on Thursday, but his session had been so good that I decided immediately that he would start. »
This immense performance has two immediate consequences: Manchester United have moved up to fourth place, which is their absolute objective of the season, in order to snatch a qualification for the Champions League, but MU, too, have added a little electricity to the decor before his round of 16 return against Atlético Madrid (first leg: 1-1), Tuesday evening.