Manchester United beat Brighton 2-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday, largely thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s emphatic finish which came after going six games without a goal
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Manchester United v Brighton: Pictures
Cristiano Ronaldo has made it clear to Manchester United that they must never give up after their much-needed 2-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Red Devils boosted their chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League largely thanks to Ronaldo, who ended his six-game goal drought by scoring the opener in style.
And post-match, Ronaldo – now having netted against 168 different clubs or countries – had a message for his teammates after they had failed to record a victory in their three previous games.
The superstar tweeted : “Back on track! Nobody gives up and there’s only one way to get back on track: hard work, team work, serious work.
“Everything else is just noise. Let’s go Devils!”
United were made to work for their victory, as Brighton bossed the first half with a stellar display.
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It was in 52nd minute when Ronaldo turned things around, lashing home from the edge of the penalty area once he had evaded a raft of defenders in a goal reminiscent of his younger years.
The Portuguese’s emphatic effort made him the third Red Devil to score a Premier League goal after turning 37, joining club legends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
And United interim manager Ralf Rangnick was full of praise for his talisman’s strike and overall performance, saying via The Athletic : “It was an amazing goal.
“It was also a good performance from Cristiano. He was always trying to help his team-mates. In the last weeks, definitely the best performance from him.”
And goalkeeper David de Gea revealed what Rangnick told his players at half-time, having been under the cosh in the first 45 minutes due to the Seagulls’ surprise dominance.
“The message was that we are playing at home and we pressed high in the second half. We controlled the game after the red card and there was a five minute spell when they came back,” De Gea explained, via BBC Sport.
“We should be fighting for more things than the top four, but that is the reality. There are many teams fighting for the same position and with the quality we have we should win a lot of points.”
The Spaniard added: “It is great always when you have the three points especially after we draw the last few games. We are all very happy.
“We knew that Brighton is one of the teams that play very well with the ball, press very good and for me it is a very good team. We started the second half better, we scored the goal, they went a man down but a big three points and the performance was there.
“It great to be honest, a very difficult one. In that moment it was a big save because we kept a clean sheet. This is what we want in this moment, keep compact defensively. It was a great save to be honest.
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