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Coming into Saturday’s showdown, the general consensus was the managers of both Manchester United and Tottenham were fighting for their jobs. Fortunately for Ole Gunnar Solskjær, he has a player like Cristiano Ronaldo in fine form. Unfortunately for Nuno Espírito Santo, his star striker is whatever is the opposite of fine form.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his sixth goal since rejoining Manchester United, a superb over-the-shoulder volley, to spark the Red Devils to a 3-0 win over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. Ronaldo added an assist to Edinson Cavani as Solskjær probably saved his job after a humbling 5-0 defeat to Liverpool last week.
Harry Kane, meanwhile, remains a missing person this season, with just one Premier League goal after his offseason move to anywhere but Tottenham fell through.
It was Ronaldo who provided the spark for United on Saturday. The man who has done nothing but score vital goals this season struck one of the finest volleys you’ll see this year. While not the most powerful of hits, the skill needed to strike this ball on target from a tight angle cannot be overstated.
Cristiano Ronaldo Goal vs Tottenham
RONALDOOOOO #TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/Map8ey3XTY
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 30, 2021
Ronaldo then found Cavani with a defense-splitting through ball to make it 2-0 after just over an hour.
Edinson Cavani makes it 2️⃣ for @ManUtd! #TOTMUN pic.twitter.com/WASO5MrCFC
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 30, 2021
Marcus Rashford, who spelled Ronaldo in the 71st minute, put Tottenham out of its misery with a goal in the 86th minute, as Spurs center backs seemed to have given up on defending at that point.
Tottenham vs. Manchester United Highlights (Oct. 2021)
The result is Manchester United finishing the day in fifth place, leapfrogging eight-place Tottenham and just ahead of resurgent Arsenal.
Ronaldo has probably improved Solskjær’s job security for at least a little while longer, while Kane’s profligacy — Spurs didn’t record a single shot on target — means Nuno could find himself out of a job soon. Maybe Tottenham shouldn’t have fired current PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino after he took the club to the Champions League final.
