They are images that bookend Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United return, from the euphoric high of his Old Trafford reawakening on September 11 to the embarrassing scenes at Goodison on Saturday, when he appeared to smack a phone out of the hand of a 14-year-old boy.
Ronaldo has apologised for his outburst since but there's no excusing it, no matter how much he was hurting. The 37-year-old was evidently limping towards the away tunnel after another rotten day in United's season, but his life has been spent not only living in the spotlight but often courting it — he should be used to camera phones by now.
The forward faces a police investigation over the incident and the petulance may well become the defining image of United's season, although there is plenty of competition for that unwanted award.
