Ronaldo scores twice in Man U homecoming

Manchester United fans wanted to soak up every moment, savor every possible glimpse of Cristiano Ronaldo and try to roll back the years, to the time when the trophies were flowing.

Almost an hour after seeing Ronaldo score twice to help United defeat Newcastle 4-1 in an English Premier League game Saturday, hundreds of fans still were inside Old Trafford to see their homecoming hero re-emerge.

“Viva Ronaldo,” they bellowed as Ronaldo came from the dressing room to conduct television interviews by the pitch.

“It is unbelievable,” the Portugal forward said, looking around at the fans whose singing struggled to make him heard. “I did not expect that they would sing my name all game.”

They sang and he scored. His first United goal in 12 years arrived in first-half stoppage time, and just like he did so often before leaving United for Real Madrid in 2009, Ronaldo, who left Juventus last month, reveled in celebrating again in front of the Stretford End. Elsewhere in the EPL, Chelsea got two goals from its own returning striker. Romelu Lukaku played at Stamford Bridge from 2011-2014, and has since become one of the world’s best. He powered a 3-0 win over Aston Villa . ... Tottenham became the final team to lose its perfect record, losing 3-0 to Crystal Palace . ... West Ham remains unbeaten after Declan Rice cleared a header off the goal line in stoppage time in a 0-0 draw at Southampton. Elsewhere in Europe, Ander Herrera scored twice and Kylian Mbappe added another as French league leader Paris Saint-Germain routed promoted Clermont 4-0. PSG held out Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar after both played in World Cup qualifiers in South America on Thursday . ... Juventus remained winless in Italy’s Serie A since Ronaldo departed, losing to Napoli 2-1 . ... Defending Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich made a statement with a 4-1 victory in Leipzig, its closest challenger last season.