Cristiano Ronaldo marked his Premier League return with two goals as Manchester United beat Newcastle United 4 goals to 1 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Ronaldo scored the game’s opener late in the stoppage time of first half and scored his second in the 62 minute after Javier Manquillo scored the equalizer for Steve Bruce’s men in the 58th minute of the game. Goals from Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard sealed the win for Ole Solskjaer’s men.
Man United dominated possession throughout the first half, but Newcastle’s deep, disciplined back five nullified the hosts’ abundant attacking threat. Neither side registered a shot on target in the game’s opening quarter, with United going closest when Raphaël Varane slipped his marker to glance a corner wide of the far post.
With Ronaldo struggling to find time on the ball, Fernandes remained United’s greatest attacking threat. His audacious chip from just inside the Newcastle half narrowly cleared the Magpies’ crossbar, a few minutes before his one-two with Jadon Sancho culminated in the latter prodding just wide.
In the end, United’s opening goal required more than a slice of fortune. It came in stoppage time at the end of the first half, when Mason Greenwood skipped off the right to drive an innocuous-looking effort towards Freddie Woodman’s near post. The shot took a deflection on its way through, and the young keeper could only parry it straight to Ronaldo, who tapped in his first United goal in over 12 years.
