Cristiano Ronaldo set another goalscoring record in a return to form with a hat-trick to keep Manchester United’s chances of playing in the Champions League next season alive with a 3-2 win over Tottenham on Saturday.
Ronaldo had scored just once in his previous 10 games, but three fantastic finishes took him clear as the highest scorer in professional men’s football history according to FIFA’s records with 807 goals for club and country.
Victory lifts United back into fourth, although they are just two points ahead of Arsenal who have four games in hand.
A fifth defeat in eight league games is another blow to Tottenham’s hopes of a top-four finish as they remain seventh, now five points behind United.
Ronaldo’s second spell at Old Trafford has so far proven to be an anti-climax with his poor form sparking debate over whether the 37-year-old’s powers are waning.
United suffered yet another humiliation against Manchester City last weekend, losing 4-1 at the Etihad, but they perfectly responded here. With the race for the Champions League now in the latter stages, securing the three points had huge significance.
United moved back up to fourth in the table after securing the three points, however, Arsenal, still have four games in hand.
“It was a beautiful game and a beautiful reaction from us,” Pogba said after the match.
“We hurt them at the right times and Ronaldo did what he does best. He has never been a problem. You have the best striker in history in our team, he cannot be a problem. Today the performance from him and all the team was very brilliant.”
