Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 700th career goal as Manchester United beat Everton 2-1 in a Premier League tie. The goal against Everton marked his first goal of the campaign.
As the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent, and you can’t keep a good man down. Manchester United are going through woes compounded by many years of maladministration, but one player has refused to go with the script.
Cristiano Ronaldo has come under criticism from fans of the Red Devils. They say he is past his sell-by date, and it is time to quit the game, but the Portugal international is not ready to hang his boots yet.
Ronaldo is a victim of his drive for excellence. He is appalled at the depths United has sunk and why they allow charlatans like Harry Maguire in the team. Yet, players like Maguire and Luke Shaw are heroes, while Ronaldo and others like him are villains.
On Sunday, Manchester United secured three points against Everton as they continue to seek a way up the table. It laid to rest the ghosts of last week’s 6-3 hammering at the hands of Manchester City, and the end of the win was Cristiano Ronaldo who momentarily turned his initials from CR7 to CR700.
Another career milestone for Cristiano Ronaldo
There are still records to be broken, and Ronaldo is not ready to quit until he has accumulated as many records as possible. Manchester United are some way off the top four, which is the only realistic goal for the Red Devils this season. When Everton took the lead through Nigerian international Alex Iwobi, United fans must have thought the pain of another defeat was in the offing.
When Antony got the equalizer for United, it took the former Real Madrid connection to get the winning goal. Casemiro won the ball off Everton and sent a beautiful pass to Cristiano Ronaldo to score his 700th career goal. It was a heavy weight off the shoulders of Ronaldo, relieved at scoring his first league goal this season.
Ronaldo started the game from the bench and was only thrust into the action when Anthony Martial went off injured in the 28th minute of the game. It took him only 15 minutes to make his impact felt on the game.
It has been a nightmare start for the 37-year-old, who has started most Premier League games this season from the bench.
A career of goals
Everywhere Ronaldo has gone, he has scored goals. The Portugal star is a goal machine with a knack for finding the net. On Sunday, Ronaldo’s left-footed strike was his 700th across a career littered with goals. Ronaldo scored 144 goals with United. He also scored 450 goals at Real Madrid and found the net 101 times for Juventus, including five scored in his early days with Sporting Lisbon.
Ronaldo has failed to score since the start of this season. The Portugal international is short of confidence and showed his reaction after the goal against Everton. He looked relieved as he scored his first-ever goal at Goodison Park.
