The five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second Premier League hat-trick in three games, leading to Manchester United's win against Norwich City on Saturday and boosting the team's chance to be included in the Champions League.
Ronaldo was seen celebrating with his teammates after scoring his third goal Saturday. The 37-year-old striker netted three goals, giving a vital 3-2 win for Man Utd. Ronaldo has currently scored 21 times for the club this term, his full effort to lead the team in the race for the four is strongly visible.
The Portuguese footballer's match-winning hat-trick during their game with Norwich reportedly earned him an £850,000 ($1.1 million) reward. Ronaldo will also earn £1 million ($1.3 million) if he successfully finishes as the team's top scorer.
Ronaldo had scored twice in the opening 32 minutes of the game, with his first goal just after seven minutes. In the last 15 minutes, Ronaldo responded with a long-range free-kick to restore Man Utd’s lead. The team moved into fifth place with six games left. Their top four competitors, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both suffered defeat.
After the game, Man Utd interim manager Ralf Rangnick praised Ronaldo's "crucial" impact. "Like against Tottenham, he was very crucial today," Rangnick told the reporters. "The second and the third one were not just easy goals, the way that he took those goals ... was just outstanding."
Meanwhile, Man Utd's young star Alejandro Garnacho received a response from Ronaldo following the victory against Norwich. Garnacho and his academy teammate Hannibal Mejbri both made it onto the bench for Old Trafford. The 17-year-old footballer is now getting first-team recognition.
On Saturday, Ronaldo and Garnacho were seen sharing an embrace with the former handing his match ball to the teenage player. Posting a series of photos on Instagram with Ronaldo, Garnacho, who grew up admiring the player, seemed very pleased, "Greatest of all times." He continued with, "Dream big guys," before tagging Ronaldo in the post.
Ronaldo then replied to the post with a simple fist bump emoji which garnered more than 90,000 likes. Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero had trolled the pair by responding to Garnacho, "Because you still didn't play with the best pa @leomessi."
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