Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled to find his usual form with Manchester United since the beginning of the season and has been labelled as finished by some parts of the football world. There is no denying the fact that age is catching up to Cristiano, and at 37 he can’t make the same impact that he used to do a few years ago. But on Sunday (October 9), the Portuguese superstar made a huge impact by scoring the winning goal for Manchester United against Everton and also completing his 700th club goal.
Everton vs Manchester United: Match Report
Manchester United’s coach, Erik ten Hag, was under pressure prior to the contest after being hammered 6-3 by city rivals Manchester City last week. He was determined to get a full three points at Goodison Park against Everton. But United made an awful start to the game by going down 1-0 within 5 minutes with a superb outside D-box strike by Alex Iwobi.
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The Brazilian, Antony, cut off the lead for the home side in the 15th minute with a nice placement goal in the right bottom corner. However, Man Utd suffered a huge blow when Anthony Martial was subbed off in the 29th minute. Coach ten Hag had to send Cristiano on the field to replace Martial.
Ronaldo didn’t disappoint, finding the net just before halftime to give the United a 2-1 lead in the match. Taking the ball 40 yards from the goalpost, Ronaldo ran down the left flank and cut inside the D-Box and eventually placed the ball nicely into the back of the net.
Manchester United ‘s 2-1 lead in the first half remained intact in the remainder of the contest. Both teams tried to find the net in the second half. In particular, Everton were desperate to equalise but failed to level the scoreline.
Breakdown of Cristiano Ronaldo's club career goals
Cristiano Ronaldo started his senior career in 2002 with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon and has represented four clubs in four different leagues in his 21-year career so far.
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In 2003, he joined English club Manchester United after a year with Sporting CP. While playing for the Red Devils, Cristiano rose to prominence and won the Ballon d'Or in 2008.
Real Madrid bought him for a record-breaking amount in the 2009 summer window. He spent his best time in his football career while playing for the Los Blancos and scored 450 goals in 438 matches.
Cristiano also played for Italian giant Juventus for three seasons before moving back to Manchester United in the summer of 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal stats in his club career (as on October 9, 2022)
| Club | Matches | Goals |
| Sporting CP | 31 | 5 |
| Manchester United | 340 | 144 |
| Real Madrid | 438 | 450 |
| Juventus | 134 | 101 |
Aftermath
Cristiano Ronaldo may still have some left in him judging by the way in which he scored against Everton to help Manchester United earn an important Premier League victory. Cristiano could have a massive impact on Ten Hag's team for the remainder of the season, and Sunday's match against the Toffees could be the beginning of it.