The magnificent Portugese winger of Manchester United, Christiano Ronaldo, scored his 26th and 27th goals of the season (in all competitions) in last night’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth. The win helped the Red Devils overtake Arsenal at the top of the Barclays Premier League table.

United took the lead after 10 minutes, with Ronaldo initiating the move with a brilliant one-two with fellow Portugese midfielder, Nani. Ronaldo, who is the highest scorer of his club this season so far, then displayed clinical finishing ability, as he passed the ball through the legs of the Portsmouth goalkeeper, David James, and into the net.

On the night, the United side was in full flow, with their passing, movement and the sheer telepathy that seemed to exist among those in the United shirt, especially Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. Ronaldo himself was at his masterful best, scoring himself, creating chances for others and putting in a dazzling performance in general. The magic never diminished, even after the duo had been replaced by Carlos Tevez and Owen Hargreaves after 70-odd minutes.

The match marked the 500th Premier League appearance for the Pompey ‘keeper, James, and he single-handedly prevented the scoreline from becoming more embarrassing for his team. He put in a brilliant performance under the eyes of English manager, Fabio Capello, and was the visitors’ best player by some distance. Commenting on James’ performance, Portsmouth’s first-team coach, Joe Jordan said that, James was currently the best English ‘keeper around.

The Pompeys, however, had no answer to the sheer brilliance and dominance of United and especially of Ronaldo, whose brace came in a thrilling space of three minutes in the first-half. They even tried out rough tackles to stop United from advancing, but with senior pros like Paul Scholes around, these strategies came a cropper.

The second goal simply oozed of class, and was described as the ‘best-ever’ free-kick in the history of Premier League by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. From the free-kick, Ronaldo sent the ball over the Portsmouth wall and it squeezed inside the top corner, keeping James frozen on the spot. It was a brilliantly taken shot, one that prompted Ferguson to compare Ronaldo with former United great George Best. Incidentally, the Portugese international is also creeping up on Best’s record of 32 goals for his club in a season (1967-68), and there will be few surprises if he indeed emerges with the European Player of the Year crown this season, just as Best had in 1967-68. Given that Ronaldo has already got 27 goals in 28 appearances this season, in all probability, in another 6-7 games, the record would be his.

United threatened to score more, with Evra coming close twice. Ferdinand’s header was cleared off the line, and Rooney’s attempted lob over the goalkeeper was thwarted by the alert and acrobatic James.

At the end of the night, there was no denying Ronaldo’s brilliance. The man’s tally of 27 goals speaks for itself, and the figure is even more impressive, considering the midfield position that he plays in. Surely, Ronaldo is worth much more than what Malcolm Glazer, the owner of United, pays him, and no one would grudge this enormously talented footballer a bonus either.

Source:Dailymail