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CRISTIANO RONALDO SINKS RESURGENT NORWICH

Cristiano Ronaldo hattrick


 There are a few things that are certain in life...death, taxes and Cristiano Ronaldo rescuing his team again and again. At the ripe age of 37, when most players hang up their boots, here we have one of the most decorated footballers of all time pulling his team out of the mud week in week out. Sure, the match was against a less fancied Norwich, sure it was against side who have lost all their matches to the top 7 this season...but don't you dare say it was an easy win for Manchester United. As it has been the case this season, United let go a two goal lead thanks to some dreadful defending at the back, but once again it was that Portuguese messiah who brought the valuable three points for the team. The match was marked with protest both in and out of the stadium against the gross mismanagement of the club by the Glazers spanning over decades of ownership.

Rangnick started with a 4-1-4-1 formation which essentially transformed into his preferred 4-2-2-2 as the game went on. Elanga was upfront providing the much needed support to Ronaldo in the absence of Edinson Cavani. Sancho started on the left and looked lively, while Jesse Lingard got the rarest of starts for the first time in a while. The game started on a slower and mundane note, but things heated up quickly when Finnish striker Pukki missed a glorious chance to put Norwich one nil up. United scored almost immediately, with Elanga pressing the defender higher up the pitch and forcing a mistake, before squaring off the ball for Ronaldo who finished an easy tap in for his 19th goal of the season. 

Ralf deciding to play Pogba as a holding midfielder bewildered me, he's not fast, he's not strong enough, he can't lunge into dirty tackles. Playing him so deep almost kills his creativity and restricts his artistry. Sancho seemed to lack a bit of composure in the box, while the fullbacks didn't commit high, especially Telles, and that left spaces open on the left. Norwich looked to play on the counter, using the flanks with Pukki as the focal point of the incoming crosses. The tempo really dropped after United too the lead, with moans and groans in the stadium becoming quite audible. Elanga was one player who performed really well in the first half.

The second goal came off a corner from the head of Cristiano Ronaldo. But the build up to getting that corner is worth appreciating. Ronaldo played a defense splitting ball for Dalot who found Lingard inside, and missed from close range. United seemed to adopt successive horizontal lines for the players in the box with Ronaldo getting free space to attack the ball and score a beautiful header. As the second goal went in, many people had already written off Norwich. But they came roaring back, capitalizing from defensive errors, first from, Lindelof and then Harry Maguire. Norwich used their full backs pretty well and were dangerous putting in the crosses, with the United defense panicking to clear the ball.

The winning goal came in the 75th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo scored from 25 yards out, as his superb free kick gave rise to sheer pandemonium inside the Old Trafford, which on the given day was tinged with a flair of protest and resistance. 

Cristiano Ronaldo free kick

Norwich tried their best and almost pulled off a shock victory, if it was not only for David de Gea saving his team on multiple occasions. Some of my takeaways from the match are;

1. Bruno is very inconsistent, loosing possession constantly, playing wrong passes or going for the spectacular without any actual need. His form has been subject to questions this season and for me, he's not a players you can build your team on. No doubt he's extremely talented, but his inconsistency is too much to ignore.

2. Elanga is raw talent and he needs time and careful nurturing to improve. He's quick, good with the ball at his feet and most importantly, he's eager to learn. He must be given ample play time against lower ranked teams to improve himself.

3. United need a complete overhaul of their midfield and their full backs. Scott McTominay and Fred are not good enough, Matic and Pogba will leave at the end of the season. Under these circumstances, United need to bring in young and exciting players who can uplift the team to new levels.

4. A change in manager will change nothing if the culture doesn't change. Someone like Harry Maguire won't even start at Leicester at the moment, but here he is captaining one of the biggest clubs in the world. This utter favoritism needs to go and the club culture needs to be re-established.

5. Man Utd may have a hundred problems, but Ronaldo isn't one of them, at least not directly. 21 goals this season already, in arguably the worst United team in the last decade at the ripe age of 37, Ronaldo has been one of the very few bright spots this season.

United have Liverpool next week before they face Arsenal in the all important match which may potentially decide the top four. With three teams chasing the last spot for the European club extravaganza, this season has been nothing short of extraordinary! And long may that continue!

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