Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo took a little more than 45 minutes to score the first goal of his second stint at Manchester United. The 36-year-old scored a brace to lead the Old Trafford camp to a 4-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday. 

Ronaldo pounced on a spilled ball by the opposition goalkeeper in the first half to produce a tap-in goal and break the deadlock. The Portuguese national then found the gap between Woodland’s legs to restore the lead after Javier Manquillo equalised.

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Ronaldo’s national colleague, Bruno Fernandes, scored the third and Jesse Lingard completed United’s third win in four league games in stoppage time.

The 36-year-old Portugal forward secured an unexpected return to United when he was sold by Juventus last month.

For Old Trafford’s second capacity crowd since the start of the pandemic 18 months ago, the “Welcome home” announcements left no doubt they were for the superstar on the field.

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He left United a year after winning his first Ballon D’Or accolade in 2008. The Portugal captain returns a five-time winner, with the chiselled, lean body ensuring not just playing longevity at 36 but a status that transcends not just United but the sport.

Ronaldo even laughed at himself. Like after the early miss when he swung at the ball from a tight angle right in front of the Newcastle fans.

He had to wait until the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half to restart the goal count left at 118 in 2009.

With inputs from the Associated Press