Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra

A popular adage goes like this- 'cometh the hour cometh the man'. Even in his late 30s, Cristiano Ronaldo never disappoints his fans. In the latest instance, Ronaldo smashed his 60th career hat-trick to help Manchester United scrape past Norwich City 3-2 in a thrilling match of the English Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The 37-year-old Portuguese international broke the deadlock as early as the seventh minute of the match when Anthony Elanga set him up for a tap-in from close range. Just after the half-hour mark, the former Real Madrid man doubled the home side’s advantage when he headed in past Norwich custodian Tim Krul from close range. The visitors pulled one back in stoppage-time with Kieran Dowell heading in from close range. United went into the break with a 2-1 lead.

Just after the half-time, Finish international Teemu Pukki scored the equaliser for Norwich as he beat the off-side trap in the 52nd minute and with a cool head found the net.

Veteran forward Ronaldo blew the room in the 76th minute from a free-kick as he struck the all-important winner to seal all three points for the Red Devils.

Notably, it was Ronaldo’s third hat-trick in United Jersey and the second hat-trick of the current season. He has so far scored 21 goals in 34 matches this season.
 

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