Ronaldo hat trick boosts Man United’s CL hopes

AP

Manchester, Apr 18 : Cristiano Ronaldo capped his hat trick with a stunning free kick in the 76th minute to give Manchester United a 3-2 win over Norwich on Saturday and boost the team’s hopes of securing a Champions League spot.

United moved past Arsenal into fifth place, three points behind Tottenham in the English Premier League.

City and Liverpool look sure to qualify for the Champions League again. The rest of the Premier League’s top four is more up for grabs, with Manchester United’s pursuit helped by Tottenham and Arsenal losing.

United blew a two-goal lead after last-placed Norwich fought back to tie the game on goals by Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki at Old Trafford.

But the day belonged to the Portugal superstar, who recorded the 50th hat trick of his professional career for his clubs and 60th overall.

Ronaldo’s goal in the seventh minute was courtesy of Anthony Elanga, who stole the ball from defender Ben Gibson in the area and slid a pass to him for an easy one-timer past goalkeeper Tim Krul. Ronaldo then headed home a corner kick in the 32nd. Ronaldo’s free kick from outside the area sailed through the wall and off Krul’s outstretched hands into the top left corner of the net.

Just before halftime, Pukki’s cross from the left side was headed in by Dowell to give the visitors hope. Dowell then returned the favor in the 52nd by threading a pass to Pukki, who took two touches and beat goalkeeper David De Gea to the near side and in off the right post.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat trick secured a 3-2 victory over Norwich after the last-placed team fought back from two goals down. United moved above Arsenal and into fifth place.

Tottenham is still fourth but only three points ahead of United after Leandro Trossard’s goal in the 90th minute gave Brighton a 1-0 win in north London.

Arsenal is on the slide. A fourth loss in five games was inflicted by Southampton with Jan Bednarek sealing a 1-0 win.

Watford slipped closer to relegation after losing 2-1 to Brentford, which moved into 11th place in its first Premier League campaign. 

Villarreal win

Gerard Moreno scored one goal and set up another before the Villarreal striker was substituted because of injury during his team’s 2-1 win at Getafe in the Spanish league on Saturday.

Despite struggling with injuries this season, Gerard has been a key player in Villarreal’s impressive run to the Champions League semifinals after ousting Juventus and, this week, Bayern Munich in the 

knockout rounds.

Gerard gave Villarreal the lead in the seventh minute and helped to make it 2-0 in the 16th when he stole the ball in midfield to start a counterattack. The Spain striker, who also set up Samuel Chukwueze’s late winner to topple Bayern on Tuesday, again made the key pass by playing Manuel Trigueros clear to beat David Soria.

Gerard had to be substituted in the 61st after he was attended by team doctors. He touched the back of his right thigh before walking off gingerly.

Emery said Gerard had a muscular injury but team doctors had yet to determine how long he would be out, leaving in question his availability for the European semifinals against Liverpool in two weeks.