12 November 2007, by Sean Gillen

Free-scoring Ronaldo fires United to Premiership summit

Manchester United 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice within a two-minute spell to fire Manchester United to the top of the Premiership against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese moved into double figures for the season with a quickfire first half double that sees United regain leadership of the league ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Reading on Monday.

United started well, but could easily have gone behind in the 18th minute when Christopher Samba struck the woodwork. Ronaldo appeared to have been fouled when in possession on the edge of the box, but the referee played on and Samba’s twenty-metre effort thundered against the post.

Ronaldo then had an effort cleared off the line when he managed to hook a corner goalwards with his left foot, but David Bentley was on-hand to clear for Blackburn. Despite going close on that occasion, Blackburn had held their own well in the first half hour and it looked like being a difficult afternoon for the Red Devils.

Towering header

However, Ronaldo won a corner with a wicked shot that took a deflection off Dunn, and converted the ensuing set-piece. Ryan Giggs floated the ball into the box for Ronaldo to rise brilliantly and power his header into the top corner from ten metres.

The Portuguese doubled his and United’s tally almost immediately, finishing a typically swift counter-attack from the hosts after Louis Saha won possession in midfield. Saha fed Tevez on the left and the Argentine used the outside of his boot to play a perfectly-weighted pass across the box to the onrushing Ronaldo, leaving the former Sporting man to fire past Brad Friedel for his ninth goal in nine games.

What looked an impossible task for the visitors was made even more difficult when Dunn was sent off for a second bookable offence eight minutes into the second half, after two cynical fouls on Tevez and Saha to prevent United attacking moves.

United took their foot off the pedal after the dismissal, although Ronaldo became frustrated as his search for a first-ever hat-trick lost momentum. The 22-year-old went close to getting his third with a rasping left-footed shot that flew narrowly over the bar, but the first treble of his professional career would have to wait for another day.

Ronaldo:

“If I keep scoring two goals every game then it’s fantastic, it doesn’t matter about the hat-trick. I score goals to help my team not for personal glory. The most important thing is getting the three points and going back to the top of the table.

“The first goal was a fantastic leap and the second goal killed the game. After that we improved our play and deserved to win. We are in good form.”

Man Utd:
van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Anderson, Hargreaves (Carrick 77), Giggs, Tevez, Saha (Nani 68)
Yellow Cards: Ronaldo

Blackburn:
Friedel, Emerton, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Bentley, Dunn, Mokoena, Pedersen, Santa Cruz (Derbyshire 78), McCarthy
Yellow Cards: Dunn (2), Samba, Nelson, Mokoena
Red Cards: Dunn (53)

Goals:
[1-0] Ronaldo, 34
[2-0] Ronaldo, 35