Ronaldo Honors Baby Son After Scoring 100th Premier League Goal During Man Utd Vs Arsenal

Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to his late son after scoring his 100th Premier League goal during Manchester United's game against Arsenal on Saturday.

Ronaldo received a warm welcome from Arsenal fans as he came back to the field for Man Utd following the heartbreaking death of his baby son. He was cheered by fans upon returning from the tunnel to warm up for Saturday's game. Some could also be seen holding a banner that read, "Ronaldo, sorry for your loss," with a heart.

The Gunners led the game with perfect goals, a 2-0 lead against Red Devils, however, Ronaldo soon produced a trademark clinical finish, swiftly scoring for his team. The Portuguese footballer then raised his left arm, pointed to the sky and paid tribute to his baby boy. Ronaldo posted the photo to Instagram with a love heart emoji caption.

It was Ronaldo's 22nd goal within the season since dramatically rejoining the Red Devils from Juventus. Ronaldo has reached the 100-goal mark during the Saturday match--another historic moment for the 37-year-old player.

In the seventh minute, Arsenal and Man Utd fans had come together and rose to applaud United's No. 7 Ronaldo to show solidarity and support after his tragic loss. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was also applauded at Anfield on Monday, with Liverpool fans singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" altogether.

Ronaldo and his long-time partner, Georgina Rodriguez, officially announced the loss of their newborn son on Instagram on April 18. The couple was expecting twins and said, "Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness."

Meanwhile, Man Utd lost the match with Arsenal 3-1 with some controversial officiating. United interim boss Ralf Rangnick questioned the refereeing and VAR over four critical decisions during their defeat to Arsenal on Saturday. "We were at least unlucky with those three or four moments," he said. Rangnick pointed to one of those after the game, the Jadon Sancho and Cedric Soares' goal incident, saying, "There was another handball issue in the first half, Jadon Sancho was involved."

Sancho did his trademark mazy runs and sent Soares back towards his own goal. The Arsenal Portuguese full-back lost his balance and tripped to the ground before stopping the ball with his hand. Sancho appealed for a free kick or a penalty. However, referee Craig Pawson waved away the appeals, and there was no VAR intervention.