Ronaldo to the rescue again. Dire Red Devils were on the verge of disappointing again but the Portuguese scored a free-kick after three years and kept all three points at the Theater of Dreams.On what was a toxic day at Old Trafford with fan unrest at the current regime – Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick papered over cracks for a less-than-convincing 3-2 victory over Norwich City.Manchester United strengthened their faltering top-four bid and were helped by Brighton and Southampton who defeated Arsenal and Tottenham, respectively – in that fuming race for the Champions League spots.In the opening stages of the match, Norwich certainly weren’t hesitant in coming forward. The Canaries could have taken the lead through Teemu Pukki inside two minutes, but perhaps explaining why they’re bottom of the Premier League pile, his missed chance came back to haunt the guests.The lead for the hosts came after Anthony Elanga robbed Ben Gibson of possession in his own box and cooly sent the ball to Ronaldo for a tap inside an empty net. CR7’s opening half-hour’s work was bettered when he doubled his tally for the afternoon – he shook off Gibson to head home from Alex Telles’ inswinging corner.Even so, Norwich weren’t completely out of it. The bottom-dwelling side fought back and warmed up David De Gea’s gloves even more. United defenders had to help their custodian also – Diogo Dalot blocked a massive opportunity for Pierre Lees-Melou. Just before the break, the visitors did find a way back into the game – Pukki assisted Kieran Dowell who had the simplest of tasks to head into an unguarded net.Norwich could sense that United’s defence started to crumble and the second half showed it. Pukki got his much-deserved goal in the 52nd minute as he finished inside the near post.United kept on struggling and the Canaries showed they weren’t done – Milot Rashica latched onto Pukki’s great pass but de Gea stopped the effort in a sensational manner to deny the comeback.Sadly for the visitors – it all went away with a defensive error, this time from Tim Krul. The Dutch keeper wasn’t strong enough to stop Ronaldo’s wicked free-kick and parry the ball into the corner. It was Ronaldo’s 50th club hat-trick and he has also managed to score 20+ club goals in each of the last 16 seasons.It would be unfair to suggest United were a better side but that’s no consolation for Norwich though, who travel back home pointless and relegation to the second tier is certain as it can be.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 33SaturdayTottenham – Brighton 0-1 (0-0)/Trossard 90+1/Man.Utd. – Norwich 3-2 (2-1)/Ronaldo 7, 32, 76 – Dowell 45+1, Pukki 52/Southampton – Arsenal 1-0 (1-0)/Bednarek 44/Watford – Brentford 1-2 (0-1)/Dennis 54 – Norgaard 15. Jannson 90+6/Sunday16.15: (2.39) Newcastle (3.35) Leicester (3.40)16.15: (1.82) West Ham (3.70) Burnley (5.40)***odds are subject to change
