After the Manchester Derby thrashing and subsequent criticism, Erik ten Hag knew the importance of his side returning to winning ways in the Premier League.
And his side did just that, albeit after some nervy moments as the Red Devils clinched a 2-1 victory against Everton on Sunday.
Antony equalised after Alex Iwobi had given the Toffees the lead before substitute Cristiano Ronaldo scored what proved to be the winner.
CR7 wins it for Utd
The goal came after Casemiro lost the ball in the centre of the park. The Brazilian ultimately did amends and robbed Iwobi before expertly finding Ronaldo with a first-time perfectly timed through ball.
Ronaldo showed his pace and calmly slotted past Jordan Pickford. United’s No 7 celebrated with a sigh of relief after having missed numerous chances to reach that milestone in United’s midweek win.
🗣️”One of the greatest players of all time.”
Frank Lampard and Erik Ten Hag sing Cristiano Ronaldo’s praises as the striker hit 700 club goals last night. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/QSgID8imgI
— 90min (@90min_Football) October 10, 2022
This was the Portuguese’s 700th club career goal, a remarkable achievement and a testament to his longevity and skill.
Remarkably, when the Portuguese first came to English shores, he had come face-to-face with current Everton boss and then-Chelsea player Frank Lampard.
The duo battled it out in the Premier League as well as in the 2008 Champions League final apart from clashes when their countries were involved.
And the Everton boss was quick to praise the former Real Madrid man’s unbelievable career and how he was awestruck with the numbers racked up by the Portugal international over years.
“It is just outstanding, isn’t it?” Lampard said. “He’s one of the greatest players that has graced the game in an era when we have had himself and Messi. The comparison doesn’t matter, they are just both incredible players in football’s history.
“To be going and look as physically good as he looks, to keep scoring goals as he’s done, the numbers he has racked up have become normal, abnormal numbers become normal year after year, looking after himself in the right way. I don’t know him particularly well but you can do nothing but admire those numbers.”
Lampard praises CR7
And he even mentioned how he had been wanting his rival to reach the milestone in midweek itself.
“When he was on 699, I wanted him to score in the Europa League the other night because you could feel might come at the weekend and then he comes on, because Martial’s got a problem. Sometimes those things happen in football.
“But in the cold light of day I’ll give him huge credit for that, it’s amazing,” Lampard was quoted as saying during the post-match press conference.
This was Ronaldo’s sixth goal against Everton. His first against the opposition came when he was a 20-year-old back in February 2005.
With his 700th goal safely tucked away, Ten Hag will be hoping Ronaldo can carry on and continue to plunder goals in the coming weeks especially after Anthony Martial‘s injury.
