Cristiano Ronaldo says there are ‘no limits’ for Manchester United after scoring a hat-trick against Tottenham
/dnl.tntsports.co.uk/sd/img/placeholder/tnt_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 13/03/2022 at 12:30 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo said there ‘are no limits’ for this Manchester United side after scoring three times in a dominant display against Tottenham which earned his team a 3-2 victory. The Portugal forward claimed goal number 807 of his career, topping the all-time scoring charts.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Image credit: Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo says there “are no limits” for Manchester United after he inspired his team to victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Portugal forward struck a hat-trick in Man Utd’s 3-2 win at Old Trafford that keeps them in the hunt for the final Champions League place.
The triple is the second of Ronaldo’s United career, the first coming in 2008. With 807 career goals, he overtakes Austrian-Czech striker Josef "Pepi" Bican to become the most prolific goalscorer in history.
Ronaldo wrote on Instagram: "Tremendously happy with my first hat-trick since I came back to Old Trafford!
"Nothing beats the feeling of being back on the pitch and helping the team with goals and effort.
"We've proven once again that we can beat any team in any given day, as long as we work hard and stand together as one. There are no limits for Man United! No matter what! Let's go, Devils!"
Man Utd were largely outplayed by the visitors, and had Tottenham managed to convert their chances the result - and the conversation - would have been very different.
Instead it was cheers of 'viva Ronaldo' ringing around Old Trafford after the striker rose highest with eight minutes to go, nodding home to claim three points and his hat-trick.
Once again Ronaldo looked impervious while slowing United’s play around him and limiting the effectiveness of their pressing.
But it is only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah that has outscored his 12 league goals, with none of his teammates scoring more than nine.
The 37-year-old's feat came less than a week after he was forced to sit out of a Manchester derby that saw United outplayed and outscored.
Manager Ralf Rangnick claimed the forward could not play due to a hip flexor injury. Rangnick was quick to dismiss the allegations that Ronaldo had been dropped as he returned to Portugal to recover.
Rangnick poured praise on Ronaldo’s latest performance, calling it the best he had seen while managing Ronaldo.
"Today it was his best performance, at least since I arrived,” he said.
“He was good in training on Thursday and that is why I decided to start him. Fantastic performance by him but also by the rest of the team.
"He can do it [get 70,000 people off their feet], but again he can also do it only with the team. A fantastic performance. It was not just the three goals today it was also he was part of the team when they were in possession of the ball.
"It was probably our best performance bearing in mind the quality of the opponents. It was necessary, we had to win the game and it will give us a boost for our next game."
Ronaldo is no longer an automatic starter at United and has drawn criticism from some areas for limiting the pressing central to Rangnick’s style of coaching.
In the game against Tottenham, Ronaldo failed to make a tackle and racked up only a single interception.
But his goals have continued to be crucial to this team and midfielder Paul Pogba called him the best striker in history after the performance.
“He has never been a problem,” said Pogba. “To us we have the best striker in history. In our team he cannot be a problem. Today he showed again why he is Cristiano Ronaldo and why we’ve got him.
“Today the performance of him and all the team was brilliant."
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement