Cristiano Ronaldo dominates the headlines again in this weekend’s Portuguese Abroad goals round-up, after another hat-trick for Manchester United to secure a much-needed victory over Norwich for the stuttering Red Devils. It is the second time in just over a month that a Ronaldo treble has given United a scarcely-deserved 3-2 victory at Old Trafford.
Elsewhere, Rafael Leão scored the crucial opener as AC Milan kept their Italian title hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Genoa at San Siro. There were also goals in the English Championship for Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho – who is reportedly joining Liverpool in the summer – and Lucas João of Reading, while Xeka got himself on the scoresheet in Ligue 1 with Lille.
There is little doubt about the main talking point of the weekend. Cristiano Ronaldo scored another superb hat-trick to give Manchester United a glimmer of hope of a top-four finish in the Premier League, as they beat Norwich City 3-2 at Old Trafford in what was yet another unconvincing performance.
United’s poor performance level in recent weeks has severely dented their chances of competing in the Champions League next season – a catastrophic failure for a club which entered the season with hopes of competing with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City. Having won just three of their previous nine league matches heading into the weekend, United were considered all but out of the top four race.
However, surprise defeats for both Spurs and Arsenal offered a lifeline and Ronaldo ensured United have renewed hope. The Portugal captain put his team ahead after just seven minutes with a simple finish following good pressure from Anthony Elanga to win possession, before adding a second with an expert header from former Porto defender Alex Telles’ corner.
Dominant in the air ?
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2022
? @Cristiano#MUFC | #MUNNOR
Yet United insisted on making things difficult for themselves, allowing bottom-place Norwich to score either side of half time and level the match at 2-2. With fifteen minutes left, Ronaldo restored United’s lead with a trademark free-kick, netting his 15th league goal of the season and offering further defiance to his doubters.
His 3️⃣rd of the game ?
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2022
His 2️⃣1️⃣st of the campaign ?#MUFC | @Cristiano
It was the 60th hat-trick of Ronaldo’s career and after the match United interim boss Ralf Rangnick said: “It’s no coincidence that he has the best goalscoring record of all players in history and he showed that again today. Like against Tottenham, he was very crucial today. The second and the third one were not just easy goals, the way he took those goals was just outstanding.”
Leão keeps Milan in title hunt
The Italian title race is one of the most intriguing in Europe heading into the final month of the season and AC Milan remain top of the table by the slenderest of margins after beating Genoa. The Rossoneri lead Inter by two points but have played a game more than their city rivals, making the battle for Lo Scudetto a fascinating prospect.
Milan came into Friday’s home meeting with Genoa desperate to shake off a two-match goal drought which had seen them drop four points with back-to-back goalless draws against Bologna and Torino. With some difficult fixtures still to play, a victory against relegation-battlers Genoa was seen as essential in keeping Milan’s title aspirations positive.
Portuguese forward Rafael Leão was the man to calm the nerves after just ten minutes. Pierre Kalulu’s cross from the right found the Portuguese coming in at the back post and Leão met the delivery with a perfect cushioned left-footed finish for his 9th goal in the league.
How's the Easter weekend going, Rossoneri? ?
— AC Milan (@acmilan) April 16, 2022
Fancy reliving #MilanGenoa in 90 seconds? ⏪?️#SempreMilan @skrill pic.twitter.com/bbfiBNrTG6
Leão was replaced for the final five minutes, after which Junior Messias added a second to secure the victory. The nine league goals scored by Leão this season is a personal best, beating the eight managed with Lille during the 2018-19 campaign in France.
The Championship: Liverpool-bound Carvalho scores; Lucas João on target again for Reading
Marco Silva’s Fulham are in touching distance of securing their return to the Premier League via promotion from the Championship, but the Cottagers were made to wait a little longer to confirm their target after losing 2-1 at Derby County on Friday.
Fabio Carvalho, who is widely reported to be joining Liverpool this summer, gave Fulham the lead at Pride Park with his 8th league goal of the season. Carvalho played a nice one-two with Bobby Reid before finishing past Ryan Allsop with a sidefoot finish on his right foot, giving Fulham the advantage after 20 minutes.
Wayne Rooney’s Derby staged a fightback to leave with the three points, but Marco Silva and his Fulham side look set to secure their passage back to the top flight sooner rather than later. With five games left to play, Fulham need just one more win to secure promotion and enjoy a 9-point lead over 2nd place Bournemouth, who have a game in-hand.
Star boy. ?#DERFUL pic.twitter.com/4BQYHNAtm4
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) April 15, 2022
Following the final whistle, Silva offered some classy words to his opponents: “After the match, I congratulated Derby because the three points, they got it.
"A fantastic atmosphere they created in their stadium. Fantastic for a team that are in a tough position with everything that has happened with them this season. I recognise their quality."
Derby’s victory would have given then renewed hope of an unlikely escape from relegation had it not been for Reading winning 2-1 at Sheffield United to maintain the 9-point gap between the sides. Portuguese striker Lucas João has been instrumental in helping the Royals avoid the bottom three in recent months, and scored his 8th goal of the season in the win at Bramall Lane.
“It was amazing, what a feeling for all the work we put in on the pitch, for what we run, for everything we’ve done well, and I think we deserve it,” former Nacional man João said after the game.
“We want to give back to the fans and to stay in this league, they deserve that especially in this anniversary year for club and we need to give that for them. Especially now we are in a very good moment, it is going to be a good game at home and at home we want to take all three points.”
Threaded by @JoshLaurent28 ?
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) April 16, 2022
Dispatched by Lucas Joao ?
Operating on the same wavelength ? pic.twitter.com/8EobKwLltk
The rest: Xeka scores as Lille stunned in France
Former Braga man Xeka is enjoying the best goalscoring season of his career with Lille in France. The midfielder scored for the fourth time this season with a back-post header against Lens on the stroke of half time, but the goal proved a mere consolation as the outgoing French champions were beaten 2-1 at home to leave them in 9th place in Ligue 1.
Finally, experienced defender Hélder Lopes scored the winning goal as Hapoel Be’er Sheva beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 in Israel, while Hugo Firmino got the opener for Armenian league leaders Pyunik in a 3-0 win over Alashkert and Artur Abreu registered in Petange’s 1-1 draw with Mondorf les Baines in Luxembourg.
By Sean Gillen
