Result, Player Ratings and Quotes

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Result

Cristiano Ronaldo turned on the goalscoring heroics once again tonight at Old Trafford as the Portuguese legend was center stage in Manchester United’s 3-2 win against Tottenham, which now sees Ralf Rangnick’s Red Devils temporarily leapfrog Arsenal into 4th in the race for the final Champions League place.

Cristiano Ronaldo. That’s it, that’s the tweet. #MUFC | #MUNTOT

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 12, 2022

But the talk of the town tonight at the Theatre of Dreams is the fact that Ronaldo is now, officially, the all-time leading goalscorer in football history after he surpassed the late, great, Czech icon Josef Bican and bagged his 805th, 806th, and 807th career goals for club and country. As for Tottenham, Antonio Conte’s troops remain on the outside looking in as European football next term could well escape their grasp as they remain firmly embedded in the fight for a top-seven finish.

Manchester United Player Ratings

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 12: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United celebrates with team mates after scoring the opening goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on March 12, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

David De Gea (6) – Could not do much regarding Harry Maguire’s own goal or Harry Kane’s well-taken penalty. Okay.

Diogo Dalot (7) – Put himself about fairly well on the night and was hardly a problem area for Ralf Rangnick.

Raphaël Varane (6.5) – A good source for starting the attack at the back and was decent throughout though not brilliant by any means.

Harry Maguire (6) – An unfortunate own-goal mares what was otherwise a halfway decent display by the England international, but he’s still below the standard.

Alex Telles (7) – Bagged an assist on Ronaldo’s third goal on the night and was generally good throughout.

Nemanja Matić (7) – Completed 95% of his passes while leading United in tackles won. He was solid but remains far removed from the player of yesteryear.

Fred (7.5) – Assisted Ronaldo’s opening stunner with a lovely backheel and was reliable in all areas of the park across his performance.

Paul Pogba (6.5) – He was okay overall but was not his usual mercurial self. Still, his quality shined through in moments.

Jadon Sancho (8) – Another strong outing by the England starlet and he capped his good performance with an assist. He’s quickly becoming the player many were looking for.

Marcus Rashford (5.5) – The England international hardly had a say in proceedings at Old Trafford, failing to register a single effort across his 68-minute appearance.

Cristiano Ronaldo (10) – A hat-trick performance for the new all-time leading goalscorer in football history after surpassing Josef Bican. Correctly given a standing ovation after being subbed.

Anthony Elanga (sub; 5.5) – Was given 22-minutes to make an impression after coming on for Marcus Rashford but did not contribute much in the final third.

Edinson Cavani (sub; 5.5) – Didn’t manage much throughout after coming on with 10-minutes to go, but at least he celebrated Ronaldo’s hat-trick.

Victor Lindelöf (sub; 5.5) – Brought on into the fray with 7-minutes to go to solidify matters at the back. Was halfway decent at best and not heavily involved.

Tottenham Player Ratings

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 12: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur scores their side’s first goal from a penalty during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on March 12, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Hugo Lloris (6) – Made a handful of saves and was solid between the posts overall. Could do nothing about any of the goals that Ronaldo found on the night.

Matt Doherty (6) – Was decent overall but in comparison, he just does not offer the same attacking threat that Emerson Royal will, but at least is more responsible in defense.

Cristian Romero (6) – Very strong in the tackle on the night and helped build from the back well. Absent in the air, however, but he was solid.

Eric Dier (6) – A strong aerial presence as he continues to try to put his best foot forward to perform his duties at the heart of the defense, but a center-back he is not.

Ben Davies (5) – A pretty substandard outing from the Welsh international who did little to lockdown Spurs’ right-flank in any consistent manner.

Sergio Reguilón (6) – Was okay across all areas of the pitch but overall it was substandard from what he is capable of producing.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (7) – Another good all-action display from the Danish international as he remains one of the unsung heroes of this Tottenham side.

Rodrigo Bentancur (6.5) – Strong in the tackle (four tackles won) and controlled proceedings as best he could (92% pass completion) but little influence in the final third.

Dejan Kulusevski (6) – Another lively performance for the Swede but after 78-minutes he failed to have the same impact we have seen from him in previous outings.

Son Heung-min (6.5) – Direct as ever and really tried his best to be that secondary threat that he so often is but he could just not find his rhythm overall.

Harry Kane (7) – Took his penalty well and was, as expected, one of the main attacking threats for Tottenham though did not manage as many efforts as one would want.

Lucas Moura (sub; 5.5) – Introduced in the 78th minute and at least offered a direct threat to try to peg another goal back for United.

Steven Bergwijn (sub; N/A) – The Dutch winger only had 3-minutes of normal time to make an impression and failed to do so, through no fault of his own.

Harry Winks (sub; N/A) – Came on with 2-minutes of normal time remaining and barely had the time or opportunity to get his boots dirty.

What they said

Ralf Rangnick on the overall performance: “I thought we were really good in the first half. We just allowed them moments when they got into our penalty box too easily. Without Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay, it wasn’t easy. Coming back after two goals showed we had the right mentality. We deserved to win. The performance was aggressive enough at least. We showed the desire to win that game. I said before the game, the team who wants it more will be successful.”

Reflecting on Ronaldo’s contributions: “Since I arrived it’s been Cristiano Ronaldo’s best performance. I didn’t expect him [Ronaldo] to score three goals, but I expected him to score. That’s why I decided to play him. His training session was so good on Thursday – I spoke to him before training on Friday & he said his hip flexor was good enough to play. He [Ronaldo] 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.”

Antonio Conte on Ronaldo: “We’re talking about a player who not only tonight showed he is a top, top player. Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi are the two best players in the world in this era. When you play against this type of player, they are decisive.”

On Tottenham’s knack for inconsistency: “What is happening? I’m the first to tell you that if you want to be competitive, to improve your level you have to try, to work a lot. This team needs to work a lot on many aspects.”

What you may have missed

RONALDO SMASHED THIS 😱🔥

(Via @NBCSportsSoccer)

pic.twitter.com/Z6LW1dxnZW

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 12, 2022

8️⃣0️⃣6️⃣

Cristiano Ronaldo, the top scorer of ALL TIME in professional football 🐐pic.twitter.com/PTDSHZvR7U

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 12, 2022

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