Paul Pogba has shut down claims that Cristiano Ronaldo is a "problem" for Manchester United after his hat-trick in their dramatic 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The 37-year-old bagged three goals to send the Red Devils back into the top four of the Premier League, with Spurs twice coming back to equalise at Old Trafford in a five-goal thriller.
Ronaldo has been criticised this season for negatively affecting United, whether it be his style of play or personality, and more recently for missing their 4-1 humiliation at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester City last weekend.
But in a staunch defence, Pogba quashed claims that "the best striker in history" is an issue.
"It was a beautiful game and a beautiful reaction from us. We hurt them at the right times and Ronaldo did what he does best," the midfielder told BBC Sport.
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"He [Ronaldo] has never been a problem. You have the best striker in history in our team, he cannot be a problem. Today the performance from him and all the team was very brilliant."
Referencing the 4-1 defeat, Pogba added to Sky Sports: "Ronaldo was brilliant. I think that's all we needed – a reaction. We scored beautiful goals. Even when we conceded a goal, we came back and scored again. The mentality was there again today.
"Everybody knows Cristiano – there’s no need to talk about him. That's what he does. He didn't play in the last game, but he comes back and scores three goals. Everybody’s happy.
"It was good today. You can hear the fans – they were pushing us and feeling it. I think today was a very good performance as a team and a very good reaction from the City game.
"We kept believing. In the second half we didn’t get the nice passing, and the movement I think wasn’t there. We gave them a bit of confidence, that's why they scored. But we got a corner and scored the winning goal."
After the final whistle, Red Devils legend Roy Keane, on punditry duty for Sky, echoed Pogba's thoughts.
" We shouldn't be surprised, he got a fantastic hat-trick but he's been doing it for years, maybe over last week or two after the criticism he's had," Keane, who briefly played alongside Ronaldo for United, declared.
"But he's been doing it for his career. You can criticise [Eric] Dier [for the first goal] he's got to get out and stop the shot from a player like Ronaldo. But the guy.. Amazing, amazing."
