Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick praised Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance against Brighton & Hove Albion that helped the team earn all three points.
The Portugal international had gone six games without scoring, his longest goal drought since joining any club in 2009.
It was only a matter of time before he ended this drought. He scored with a flash of brilliance against the Seagulls through a rocket strike.
In the 51st minute, Yves Bissouma gave Ronaldo control and space outside the box. The Portuguese striker escaped a few defenders before smashing the ball past Robert Sanchez into the bottom right corner.
Another one ticked off the list for @Cristiano: ✅#MUFC | #MUNBHA
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 16, 2022
Brighton started losing their grip on the game after Ronaldo’s goal. Lewis Dunk was given his marching orders a few minutes later, as he fouled Anthony Elanga to make matter worse for Brighton.
Following that, United had a number of opportunities and Ronaldo was responsible for a couple of them.
With the final kick of the game, Bruno Fernandes scored the club’s second goal and sealed it for the Reds.
While speaking to the club’s official website, Ralf Rangnick praised Ronaldo’s overall performance following the game.
He said: “Yes, it was an amazing goal. Not only an important one but an amazing goal. Overall, it was also a good performance by Cristiano. Energetically, he was online, he was always trying to help the other teammates. I think, in the last weeks, that would be the best performance by him and very, very important for us.”
Ronaldo was a creative force in addition to his scoring opportunities, but his teammates were unable to capitalize. In the sixth minute, the £31.5 million stars produced a beautiful backheel pass for Jadon Sancho, but the England star’s shot was hit straight at the goalie.
Although Bissouma’s error and a few defensive blunders, Brighton still produced many chances and were the much better side, which should disappoint Rangnick.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to scoring form, with his first goal of 2022, is the only major plus from this match.
