As Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in helping Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Arsenal in a Premier League match late on Thursday, he became the first player in history to score 800 top-level career goals. Since re-joining the English club from Serie A side Juventus in the summer, he has already scored 12 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions, giving him 801 goals from 1,097 games.
Although the striker has been in superb form this season, the club is still in joint seventh place with just 21 points -- six wins, three draws, and five losses in 14 games.Chelsea leads with 33 points, while Manchester City's Pep Guardiola is second with 32 points.
As a matter of fact, if Liverpool -- with 31 points -- is included as well, the top three are so close together that a three-horse race for the title is likely. Despite Ronaldo's continued excellence - and his relentless pursuit of goals showing no signs of abating - Ralf Rangnick could be able to transform Man United under his leadership.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked as Manchester United's manager after a string of poor performances, particularly the defeat to relegation-threatened Watford last week.
The Portuguese star proved critics wrong by netting two goals on Thursday, one from the dreaded penalty spot.
The Gunners' misery was compounded when, just two minutes later, Odegaard gave Arsenal an equaliser. Ronaldo then scored from a penalty to make the Gunners' day even worse. With the side still having a lot of catching up to do, Ronaldo, though excited about the landmark achieved, tweeted, "Our minds are already set on the next game; there's no time to celebrate! Today's win was vital to get back on track, but there's still a long road to go until we reach our destination… Congrats to all my teammates; great spirit tonight! (Folded hands, Flexed biceps symbols)."
Our minds are already set on the next game, there's no time to celebrate! Today's win was very important to get back on track, but there's still a long road to go until we reach our destination… Congrats to all my teammates, great spirit tonight! 🙏🏽💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/XUFsOOGlws
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) December 2, 2021
He now has 130 goals over two stints with Manchester United, five with Sporting Lisbon, 450 with Real Madrid, 101 with Juventus and 115 with Portugal.