Roy Keane wouldn’t be Roy Keane if Manchester United’s chief critic hadn’t found something to nag about again.
The TV expert from “Sky Sports” is regularly on duty when the Red Devils play in the Premier League. And the United legend (521 competitive games) never misses an opportunity to fight players, coaches, officials or even the whole club. Whether out of spite or concern for his beloved club – opinions differ.
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“Am I reading that correctly? Are they gloves on? They’re wearing gloves in warm-up? That’s a great message. Two seasoned centre-backs,” said Keane with biting irony.
Ronaldo creates second hat-trick for Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo was not spared by Keane recently. The TV critic recently judged that he had “never seen so many weak games in a row” from Ronaldo in the past five years.
But then came Tottenham. And above all, came Ronaldo. The 37-year-old defeated Spurs almost single-handedly in a 3-2 win. Ronaldo scored all three goals for United – his first hat-trick in the devil red shirt since beating Newcastle United 6-0 in January 2008.
Fotocredit: Getty Images
More than 14 years later, this is only the second time Ronaldo has achieved this feat for Manchester, and at a time that doesn’t quite suit his unique career.
Since returning in the summer of 2021, CR7 has not wanted to do much. In the last ten games he scored a measly goal and the relationship with coach Ralf Rangnick and some teammates is described in the English media as “difficult” at best.
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Rangnick spoke of Ronaldo’s “best game since I’ve been coach here. It was a fantastic performance.”
The coach already suspected on Thursday that his star striker would be capable of great things at the weekend. “He trained so well on Thursday that I already knew I had to bring him in from the start. I also expected him to score, but not necessarily three times,” said Rangnick.
Colleague Paul Pogba didn’t want to waste many words when asked by a reporter about Ronaldo’s performance. “We don’t really need to talk about Ronaldo. Only the best striker in history does things like that,” said the Frenchman.
Tom Brady Triff Cristiano Ronaldo
The opponent also had to acknowledge that there was nothing to be done against Ronaldo that day. “He was in great shape, very aggressive in the penalty area. When he’s in that mood it’s difficult to control him,” said Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
And even Roy Keane had no choice but to join in the plaudits: “He’s shown once again that he’s a genius. Again, Manchester United weren’t great, but Ronaldo was brilliant.”
Perhaps Ronaldo inspired the presence of a sports legend. NFL superstar Tom Brady, seven-time Super Bowl champion, was at Old Trafford and even caught up with Ronaldo for a chat after the game.
The football GOAT meets the soccer GOAT – only good things can come of it.
Rangnick: “Working with Ronaldo is a challenge”
Hat trick, world record, Keane praise, Brady meeting – this Saturday Cristiano Ronaldo will not soon be forgotten. But whether that was already the turning point will only become apparent in the next few games.
Ronaldo has no regular place at Rangnick. He’s not used to it and doesn’t get anything out of it. The relationship between the two remains “difficult”.
“It’s a challenge to work with him,” said Rangnick after the game. “But he showed he still has the quality to play for a club like Manchester United.”
Ronaldo should deliver again as soon as possible. It counts on Tuesday: Second leg in the round of 16 of the Champions League against Atlético Madrid. Tottenham was important, Atlético is more important. For United. For Rangnick. And for Cristiano Ronaldo.
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