RIGHT PLACE ...RON TIME!
Hat-trick star now the GREATEST scorer ever
NFL legend Tom Brady would recognise the GOAT when he sees him - and he was at Old Trafford to witness Cristiano Ronaldo become the greatest of all time on an incredible night.
Brady, the quarterback who joined Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the age of 43 and then won the Super Bowl, saw veteran Ronaldo fire a sensational hat-trick to become the most prolific scorer in football history.
Twice Antonio Conte’s (right) Tottenham came from behind to draw level, through Harry Kane’s penalty and Harry Maguire’s embarrassing own-goal.
But it was fitting that on an evening when 37-year-old Ronaldo made history, he rose to head home a stunning winner.
Ronaldo’s first goal – a 25-yard blast that harked back to his very best days – took the Portuguese forward level with Josef Bican, the Vienna-born striker whose career spanned 26 years either side of the Second World War.
His second took him to 806 career goals for club and country. According to
FIFA, he was now out on his own when it comes to finding the back of the net in competitive matches.
Kane restored parity once and then Maguire sliced a clearance past David De Gea to bring the Londoners level a second time.
But then nine minutes from time, Alex Telles sent in an in-swinging corner from the right. Ronaldo muscled himself away from Cristian Romero and leapt above Matt Doherty before slamming a meaty header into the top corner for goal No.807.
Even Brady was caught up in the pandemonium.
The American legend was invited to the game by the Glazer family who own both United and the Buccaneers. In recent years, he has become friends with Kane, the Spurs captain who reckons he could one day have a career in Gridiron as a place-kicker. Brady took to Twitter before the game to give his support to Ronaldo... and apologise to Kane.
All eyes were on the United star following his mysterious absence from the derby humiliation last week.
Ronaldo certainly didn’t look to be feeling the effects of a hip injury when he bludgeoned United ahead with the kind of long-range strike that used to be his trademark, after Fred had found him with a clever flick.
Paul Pogba then guided a shot just wide before Tottenham came roaring back.
Ben Davies thought he had levelled, only for his celebration to be cut short by an offside flag.
And Eric Dier was denied when Diogo Dalot managed to block his goal-bound header after Rodrigo Bentancour had flicked on Heung-min Son’s corner. But Kane likes a Saturday night out in Manchester.
Three weeks on from his winning double against City, he was on target again in the 35th minute. Telles was adjudged to have handled Dejan Kulusevski’s cross and Kane beat De Gea with an emphatic penalty.
But United were in front again within three minutes.
Jadon Sancho was able to break clear down the left after Sergio Reguilon stepped up too late to play the winger offside when Nemanja Matic clipped the ball forward. And Sancho’s cross gave Ronaldo a simple finish from six yards.
Tottenham were always a threat, particularly through Son.
The South Korean fired a great chance wide early in the second half. And when Maguire stretched to cut out Sergio Reguilon’s cross and succeeded in slicing it past De Gea, the visitors will have fancied the win.
But Ronaldo was having none of it. First he forced Hugo Lloris into a smart save – then grabbed the winner in front of a febrile Stretford End.