Cristiano Ronaldo made the return of his dreams to Manchester United on Saturday. The superstar, who returned to after twelve years and 118 days the Red Devils, guided his new team past Newcastle United with two goals. Bruno Fernandes also contributed in the final phase with a beautiful shot from distance, while Jesse Lingard signed 4-1 in injury time. Manchester United top the Premier League with ten points from four matches. Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton can also reach that number of points this round of play.
Solskjaer put Ronaldo in the center forward, moving Mason Greenwood from that spot to the right wing. Paul Pogba moved from the left wing to the midfield, freeing up a place for Jadon Sancho on the left. Nemanja Matic was preferred over Fred and Donny van de Beek as a controlling midfielder, while Scott McTominay was injured. Ronaldo showed activity in the opening minutes of the match, including left-handed shots into the side net. The first big chance came after twenty minutes for debutant Raphäel Varane, who headed just wide from a corner.
Cristiano Ronaldo directly at the appointment! ?? ?? On the stroke of half-time he simply taps in after a blunder by Woodman ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #MUNNEW pic.twitter.com/MijZcnpXYE
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 11, 2021
Bruno Fernandes tried spectacularly from his own half, but aimed just wide. The United midfielder lost the ball dangerously in his own penalty area shortly afterwards and was lucky that Joe Willock wanted to kick over, instead of looking for the free Allan Saint-Maximin. United visibly struggled to create finished chances against the strongly grouped Newcastle United. Sancho had a chance chance, but just couldn’t tap through a shot by Bruno Fernandes. The opening goal fell almost out of nowhere on the stroke of half-time. Newcastle goalkeeper Frederick Woodman mishandled a deflected shot from Mason Greenwood, giving Ronaldo a punch: 1-0.
???????????? ????????’?? ????????? ? Cristiano Ronaldo fully asserts himself and immediately signs for his second of the afternoon ??#ZiggoSport #PremierLeague #MUNNEW pic.twitter.com/e4JV6P87L5
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 11, 2021
A razor-sharp counter brought Newcastle United to the same level eleven minutes after the break. Saint-Maximin cleverly passed the ball to Javier Manquillo, who came up from the right, who convincingly found the far corner: 1-1. United needed just six minutes to recover. Luke Shaw saw Ronaldo go deep and sent a low pass, after which the Portuguese was able to enter the box and shot the ball through Woodman’s legs: 2-1. Another Newcastle counter-attack posed danger from Joelinton, who aimed straight at David de Gea. The decision came ten minutes before the end thanks to Bruno Fernandes, who beautifully placed the ball from twenty meters into the intersection: 3-1. Donny van de Beek was given a substitute five minutes before the end instead of the last goalscorer. Jesse Lingard scored 4-1 from a nice attack in injury time. The midfielder received the ball after a smart transfer from Anthony Martial, passed Jamal Lewis and shot in easily: 4-1.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 9 |
| 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | West Ham United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 8 | Everton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 6 |
| 10 | Brentford | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton W. | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 14 | Southampton | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -2 | 3 |
| 15 | Watford | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 3 |
| 16 | Arsenal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -4 | 2 |
| 18 | Burnley | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -7 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -10 | 0 |