Christiano Ronaldo ensured that Manchester United moved to within a point behind the leaders Arsenal. His double against Everton ruined what was otherwise was a very spirited display by The Toffees.

The Red Devils looked to be headed towards a stalemate after Tim Cahill had canceled out Ronaldo’s 22nd minute opener. However, a clumsy challenge by Everton’s Piennar on Giggs inside the penalty box saw United being awarded a penalty 3 minutes from the full-time. The charismatic Portuguese winger held his nerve from the spot and handed over a defeat to Everton - their first in the last thirteen outings.

The result was a fair reflection of the events on the afternoon. Both of United’s strikers, Tevez and Rooney, had seen their efforts either go wide or being saved by Everton’s goalie Tim Howard. Ronaldo provided the initial breakthrough after creating a goal out of nothing. A superb curling left footer in the 22nd minute put the hosts in front.

Thereafter, the game saw a spate of rash tackles from both the sides, as Everton pushed for an equalizer. Blues were lucky within five minutes of the opener. Piennar delivered a inch-perfect cross over Cahill’s head, who out-jumped United’s left-back Evra to head into the net.

Rooney was denied by a goal-line clearance before the first half ended. Sir Alex reorganized his team at the break. But Unite were unable to break down Everton’s resilient defense. It was only three minutes before the end of the match that Piennar’s misjudgment inside the box helped United secure all three points. The scoreline read 2-1 in favor of Manchester United.

The pressure was on United after Arsenal had moved to four points clear at the top of the table with a win on Saturday. The things would only get more interesting with holiday’s fixtures starting in two days. But one thing’s for certain, United need Ronaldo to continue firing in order to be sure of retaining their crown.

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