Man Utd 3 – 2 Norwich

April 16, 2022 admin

Cristiano Ronaldo sealed his hat-trick with a stunning free-kick to rescue a 3-2 victory for Man Utd over Norwich, having earlier blown a two-goal lead at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo’s second hat-trick in five games put some shine on another underwhelming performance from United, whose pursuit of a top-four spot was nonetheless strengthened thanks to defeats for rivals Arsenal and Tottenham.

They looked to be strolling to victory when Ronaldo was teed up for an early tap-in after Ben Gibson was caught in possession (7) and grabbed a second by nodding home Alex Telles’ corner (32).

Norwich had created chances without threatening to defy their goal-shy reputation until Kieran Dowell headed Teemu Pukki’s cross past David de Gea on the stroke of half-time, and the Finland striker beat the offside trap to level seven minutes into the second period.

With the atmosphere around Old Trafford souring on an afternoon, where the pre-match preparations had been overshadowed by widespread protests outside the ground against the Glazer ownership, Ronaldo restored the hosts’ good feeling with a 25-yard thunderbolt free-kick winner in the 76th minute which caught out Tim Krul and put the hosts right back in contention to finish fourth.

Norwich remain seven points from safety with six games to play, with their hopes of survival continuing to look increasingly bleak.

Ronaldo saves United again to raise Champions League hopes

Debate has surrounded Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford since he joined from Juventus on Transfer Deadline Day last August but the six-time Ballon D’Or winner has dragged his side to results almost single-handedly at times.

Without his goals they may well have failed to qualify from their Champions League group and his treble against Norwich could yet play a major part in reaching the same tournament next season.

Anthony Elanga deserved most of the credit for his opener, catching Gibson in possession and squaring for a simple finish, but his second was all of his own making with an excellent near-post run and header from a Telles corner.

His third, a direct free-kick goal which has become all-too rare for the Portugal forward in recent years, felt like a throwback to his first spell at Old Trafford with Krul beaten by the sheer power on his 25-yard effort, which he could only palm in off his near post.

Whether or not the 37-year-old does remain in Manchester for the second year of his contract will not be determined until the summer, but whether he does or not his contribution to United’s season is without doubt.