If Monday night’s win over Brentford proves to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s final game in front of a home Manchester United support, one of the club’s greatest ever players can go out on a relative high.
Unlike so many games this season in which Ronaldo’s goals have papered over the cracks, the 37-year-old proved instrumental in the win even aside from both winning and penalty.
At times, Ronaldo was even tracking back in order to win the ball before combining with Bruno Fernandes, Juan Mata and Anthony Elanga in a manner United fans have not seen before this season.
Granted, the fact Brentford are not playing for much has to be taken into account but United resembled something of a cohesive attacking unit at times, all while dealing with Christian Eriksen’s delicious deliveries well from a defensive point of view.
Fernandes opened the scoring following an Elanga cross after the youngster broke behind the Brentford defence in the opening ten minutes before Mata teed up Ronaldo for another goal on the break.
That, however, was chalked off by VAR after an offside call and United went into the interval with only a one goal lead.
From there, United really stepped up a gear. Led by Ronaldo, both Mata and Nemanja Matic also impressed on what is definitely their final appearances as a United player on home soil.
Raphael Varane would sweep home a third as supporters bid farewell a number of players, not many of whom have lived up to their billing.
In many ways, it was a strange, somewhat of testimonial-like atmosphere. A game that really did not matter, the handbrake was off and at least some of the negativity was lifted as Mata, Matic and Edisnon Cavani were applauded off the United stage.
The Erik Ten Hag era is coming and Ronaldo’s future is uncertain. For the other players labelled as deadwood for much of the past few years, it was at least an amicable goodbye.
