Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick against Norwich City helped Manchester United win 3-2 in the EPL 2021-22. Meanwhile, Ralf Rangnick is yet to decide on the future of the Portuguese.
It turned out to be an unexpectedly thrilling match between record 20-time former champion Manchester United and the relegation-threatened Norwich City in the 2021-22 English Premier League (EPL) clast at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday. Club talisman Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to help the hosts edge past 3-2. However, club manager Ralf Rangnick remains undecided on the Portuguese's future.
As for the match, it all started with Ronaldo striking twice in the opening half in the seventh and 32nd minute before Kieran Dowell pulled one back at the stroke of half-time. While Teemu Pukki levelled it in the 52nd, a glorious free-kick from Ronaldo in the 76th sealed the deal. It was the Portuguese's 37th goal this season in 21 matches across tournaments, while it was his 60th career hat-trick, as he is not set to earn an £850,000 bonus for scoring above 20 this season, as per his contract.
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However, Ronaldo's future remains doubtful as United struggles for fourth place. Failure to seal a UEFA Champions League (UCL) berth could spell the end of Ronaldo's stint at Old Trafford, while incoming manager Erik ten Hag also does not seem keen on having the Portuguese as a part of his plans. Nonetheless, Rangnick did not comment on anything significant related to Ronnie.
"This is, in the end, not my decision. Cristiano has got another year of the contract. It will be a decision for the new manager to take with the board. Again, he showed against Tottenham and today's game that he could be the difference-maker in moments like this, in games like this. It is not a coincidence that he has the best goalscoring record of all players in history. He showed that again today," stated Rangnick after the victory.