Ronaldo nets a brace as Manchester United breeze past Newcastle

Cristiano Ronaldo surely made his presence felt as he scored twice in his return to Manchester United as they walloped Newcastle 4-1 at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese pounced on a mistake by Newcastle keeper Freddie Woodman who was unable to control a shot in the closing seconds of the first half. The ball ricocheted off Woodman to Ronaldo who simply had to tap it in.

Up until that point, the game had been rather even between the two sides with the visitors creating the better opportunities. Were it not for some poor decision making or sloppy touches inside the box, Newcastle might have been the ones to find themselves on top.

Ronaldo could not have asked for a better Manchester United homecoming

Ronaldo’s second goal came in the 62nd minute of the second half. The goal showed flashes of the Ronaldo of old as he received the ball on the left and beat the defender before slotting the ball through the legs of Woodman.

The Newcastle keeper did not cover himself in glory in any of the two goals but it takes no merits away from the 36-year-old.

Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard scored the other two United goals on an almost perfect day for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with the only blemish being not able to keep a clean sheet.

There was some doubt, however, whether or not Ronaldo was going to start. In his post match press conference, there was never any doubt.

“No. Of course not,” Solskjaer said. “This is what Cristiano is about. This was a day for everyone to enjoy.”

Throughout the first half, it seemed like United’s attack was focused on getting Ronaldo the opening goal. Once a United attacker got close to the area, the first resort was to send in a cross. Everyone seemed to get a bit more loose once he scored his goal.

So far so good on Ronaldo’s return. He played the whole game and, on a whole, did not get in the way of the rest of the team which was a concern heading in — particularly with Fernandes.

“Everyone knows what Cristiano Ronaldo brought for the club and we are really happy to have him,” Fernandes said. “The most important, as he will say, is the result for the team. Good players can always play well together.”

Despite equalizing, Newcastle was not much of a test for the Red Devils. They kick off the Champions League midweek against Young Boys and then travel to take on West Ham.

The match against the Hammers will be another test for Manchester United. They dropped points earlier in the season against Southampton. That was without Ronaldo and it’ll be interesting to see what effect he has when it comes to facing tougher Premier League opponents.