Cristiano Ronaldo, with helping hands from Spurs and Arsenal, puts Man Utd back in top four chase
Cristiano Ronaldo attempts a bicycle kick against Norwich City at Old Trafford.
CRISTIANO Ronaldo claimed another spectacular hat-trick as Manchester United narrowly averted disaster and remained in the chase for a top-four finish.
The Portuguese striker claimed the 75th minute winner after his side had earlier squandered the two-goal first half lead he had handed them.
Ronaldo’s 25-yard, right-foot blast might have been kept out by Tim Krul but the keeper succeeded only in helping the ball into his own net with both hands.
It was the second consecutive home game in which Ronaldo had claimed a hat-trick after his match-winning display last time out against Tottenham.
And, on an afternoon that saw a protest by supporters and had fans abusing Paul Pogba as he was substituted in the second half, the victory, rather than the United performance, was all that mattered.
Norwich had already forced David de Gea into an important third minute save, the Spaniard blocking Teemu Pukki when he was through on goal, by the time Ronaldo handed United the lead four minutes later.
But the Canaries had only themselves to blame for falling behind as they made a mess of playing the ball out of their area and defender Ben Gibson was stripped of the ball by Anthony Elanga.
The youngster squared for his veteran team mate who comfortably finished from the centre of the area for his 19th of the season.
It was an important goal, given the mood around Old Trafford and a fans demonstration that saw around 2,000 disgruntled supporters march in protest against ownership and the general malaise around their club.
A number of those supporters continued their noisy protests outside the ground, finally entering Old Trafford after 17 minutes; to mark the number of years the Glazer family have been in control.
And they were in situ in time to see Ronaldo double United’s lead after 32 minutes from an Alex Telles corner.
The Portuguese striker headed in after a towering leap although Gibson might have offered a more committed challenge.
It was all very routine at that stage, which must have come as a relief to Rangnick who name a line-up with no defensive presence in midfield due to injuries.
That was abundantly obvious in the way Norwich pulled a goal back in first half injury time as Dimitris Giannoulis and Pukki exchanged passes and the latter’s cross was headed in by Kieran Dowell at the far post.
It was a warning that United failed to heed and, seven minutes into the second half, Norwich were level.
Again, the Canaries scythed through the United midfield and Dowell’s well-timed pass played Pukki clear of the opposition backline before he converted via the post from ten yards.
It took a brilliant diving save from de Gea a few moments later to deny Milot Rashica as Norwich sensed victory was there for the taking.
: De Gea 7; Dalot 5, Lindelof 6, Maguire 6, Telles 5 (Mata 73, 5); Fernandes 6, Pogba 5 (Rashford 73, 5), Lingard 5 (Matic 63, 6); Elanga 6, Ronaldo 9, Sancho 5.
: Henderson, Bailly, Wan-Bissaka, Jones, Hannibal, Garnacho.
(4-2-3-1): Krul 5; Byram 6, Hanley 5, Gibson 4, Giannoulis 6; Normann 6, McLean 6 (Gilmour 73, 5); Dowell 7, Lees-Melou 6 (Rowe 81), Rashica 7; Pukki 8.
Gunn, Aarons, Zimmermann, Rupp, Placheta, Tzolis, Sorensen.
A Madley 7
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