Cristiano Ronaldo added another record to his burgeoning list of accomplishments on Saturday when he scored all three goals in Manchester United's Premier League victory over Norwich City at Old Trafford.
As relegation loomed, Ronaldo once again proved his worth. Norwich displayed a level of resilience that surprised their more illustrious opponents.
As David de Gea conceded two goals, United's poor defence, which had been their undoing all season, threatened to derail their prospects of finishing fourth.But Ronaldo would emerge as the hero, scoring twice in the first 32 minutes to put United in contention for a victory, which he also provided 14 minutes from time with a stunning freekick following a foul on Anthony Elanga.
Ronaldo's second hattrick in United's previous three games came in handy, putting them within striking distance of Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently in fourth place.
United would leapfrog their opponents for the elusive Champions League qualification berth if they beat Liverpool on Tuesday.
BREAKER OF RECORDS
Since his return to the club last summer, Ronaldo has scored 21 goals, 15 of which have come in the Premier League.
Only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min have scored more goals in the Premier League this season.
Furthermore, with 39 hattricks in Europe's top five divisions this century, Ronaldo became the only player to do it.Only Lionel Messi (36), Robert Lewandowski (16), and Luis Suarez (16) have displayed the same level of character as him.
Ronaldo is only one goal away from being the first player in English Premier League history to score 100 goals for Manchester United.
Analysts believe that the desire to help United qualify for the Champions League next season, as well as to add to his career tally (which is now well over 805 goals!) would prompt further heroics from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has only seven games left in the league this season.
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