Of course he was there. A short start, then Cristiano Ronaldo was on the ball after the failed defense of Newcastle goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and pushed him into the goal to make it 1-0 for Manchester United. Anyone who thought that Old Trafford had already been ecstatic before was now forced to redefine the concept of ecstasy again. And this state of affairs should continue until the game was whistled at 4: 1 for United.
The fact that this league game – Cristiano Ronaldo’s first for Manchester United in twelve years – was of increased moral significance was obvious even before the kick-off. The VIPs around Ryan Giggs and Sir Alex Ferguson sat in the boxes, while the fans sang about the returnees in the stands. Perhaps one or the other reminisced about a goalless draw against Arsenal FC in May 2009, Ronaldo’s last Premier League game to date. A draw that United, reigning Champions League winners at the time, secured their third championship in a row ahead of schedule.
Ronaldo looks like a relic from United’s glory days
That was a long time ago, and since then things have not gone the way one would imagine in the theater of dreams at night. United last celebrated winning the championship in 2013, not to mention the Champions League. At the same time, the red Manchester had to idly watch the rise of City to become the city’s number one. Now not only has one of the best players of this century returned to the place where his career really took off, but also a symbolic figure: a relic from the glory days when United England was the most successful football club at the top of European football stood on par with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Of course you want to go there again in the future, but in the present Ronaldo and Co. had to deal with Newcastle United. These are usually not the kind of opponents who make the Portuguese sweat on his forehead, but he still seemed almost nervous at first. He dropped an arc lamp in the opponent’s penalty area, but didn’t seem to know where the goal was. The supporters reacted jubilantly, Ronaldo himself smiled briefly at his overzealousness. He should take it off quickly.
United rarely put their extremely deep opponents in danger at first – but maybe that was part of the strategy to put Newcastle goalkeeper Freddie Woodman to sleep. In any case, before the 0: 1 he looked as if he was still mentally in May 2009 and let the ball drip at Ronaldo’s feet – that’s how they say “Welcome home” in the fine English way (45th + 2). At half-time, Old Trafford was mentally and acoustically heading for the championship title.
Shortly after the start of the second half, this certainty of victory crumbled briefly. In a moment of inattention, Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin had too much space on the counterattack, who served his colleague Javi Manquillo, and the score was 1: 1 (56th). But recently Cristiano Ronaldo has been under contract with Manchester United, in a way the certainty of victory incarnate. And he used the space offered to him when Newcastle ventured too far into Manchester’s half shortly afterwards. At the end of the resulting counterattack there was a pass from Luke Shaw into the barrel of Ronaldo, an uncompromising finish through the legs of Woodman – and the 2-1 (62nd).
At the age of 36, Ronaldo is no longer the player who left her in 2009, as the inspired supporters at Old Trafford will have noticed despite all the nostalgia. The tricky winger has become a final player, and his goals on Saturday, both scored in center-forward fashion, exemplified this.
There had been votes condemning Ronaldo’s reunion with United for fail
The other protagonists of the United offensive are no longer Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs, but Mason Greenwood, Antony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jaden Sancho – talented, young players for whom Ronaldo is no longer just a childhood idol, but also a competitor. On Saturday it was Anthony Martial who had to sit on the bench, Rashford is still injured. Apart from Ronaldo, the omnipresent Paul Pogba and the scorers to 3-1 and 4-1, Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard, were able to shine.
There had been voices in the run-up to see Ronaldo’s reunion with United as doomed. You put stones in the way of your own future, it was said, and instead mourn the glory of days gone by. Indeed, it is remarkable that with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the dugout and Ronaldo in the storm center, the heroes of the last two triumphs in the Champions League to date are supposed to bring the great success back to Old Trafford – and not primarily Rashford and Sancho . In addition, not only Ronaldo’s position but also Ronaldo’s defensive work has changed – the always poor pressing behavior has become noticeably worse again.
Against Newcastle, however, that did not come to fruition, anyway the critical voices are likely to fade in view of this debut for the time being. And Manchester United fans will be hard to tear from their dreams of returning to their former greatness. “It felt like the old days,” said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the game.