Fans saluted Cristiano Ronaldo after his stunning goal and assist helped Manchester United to a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team bounced back from their hammering by Liverpool.
Reeling from a 5-0 defeat to their bitter rivals at Old Trafford last weekend, under-fire manager Solskjaer went with a different look when facing the north Londoners away.
Banking on a 3-4-3 formation, Bruno Fernandes provided central attacking midfield support to veteran front two Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani.
With a combined age of 70, there were plenty of wisecracks about the Ronaldo-Cavani link-up from internet onlookers before kick-off.
Yet approaching half time, the Norwegian coach’s bravery started to pay off and they were starting to eat their words.
As part of a move that culminated in what admirers are already calling a Goal of the Season candidate, the Portuguese connection provided the goods as Ronaldo latched on to a Fernandes cross to let off a sweet volley and make it 1-0.
I lived to see this !!! @ManUtd RONALDO HAS MADE MY DAY !!! I’m ready to leave before any upset . Or should I stay . OH MY GOSH !! #GGMU pic.twitter.com/GnF5JqirFG
— iPaapa????????♂️ (@ipaapa) October 30, 2021
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was lauded as ‘Mr Clutch’ as it was remarked how Ronaldo “steps up every time his team needs him”.
After seeing another superb strike ruled out for a marginal offside early in the second half, Ronaldo proved that the moment of brilliance wasn’t a flash in the pan by providing an assist to Cavani for the Uruguayan’s first strike of the season on 64 minutes.
“Not bad for such a ‘selfish’ player,” quipped fanboy and TV motormouth Piers Morgan.
Even with Marcus Rashford bagging the third and final goal, it was observed that United might have finally found their strike partnership in Ronaldo and Cavani, plus a formation that works.
As it was also said that Ronaldo saved Solskjaer’s job, others made calls for Antonio Conte to come in given the Italian’s success with 3-4-3 in a Premier League title-winning campaign at Chelsea.
Ronaldo saving Ole’s job pic.twitter.com/uLd690LgFp
— Footy Humour (@FootyHumour) October 30, 2021
Furthermore, Ronaldo’s showing saw him boost impressive stats against Spurs.
This was the 12th time that he had scored and assisted a goal in an English top flight match, and three of those occurrences took place at their expense.
More specifically, he has netted in six straight matches against the Londoners over a 12-year stretch and became the oldest ever scorer in matches between the two clubs at 36 years and 267 days, surpassing Ryan Giggs in April 2010.
Unsurprisingly, former teammate Gary Neville dubbed Ronaldo the Man of the Match on Sky Sports.
"The old men led from the front."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praises the work rate that Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo put in for Man United pic.twitter.com/Mkiv5ZsRTH
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 30, 2021
