Ralf Rangnick piled the praise on Cristiano Ronaldo after his stunning hat-trick gave Manchester United a crucial 3-2 win over Norwich on Saturday afternoon. United captialised on top-four rivals Arsenal and Tottenham both dropping points with a hard-fought win at Old Trafford.
United once again struggled to dominate the entirety of the match and looked in danger of dropping even more points when they squandered a two-goal lead in the second-half.
A brace from Ronaldo had put United 2-0 up before efforts from Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki drew the visitors level at Old Trafford with goals either side of the half-time whistle.
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Just when it looked like United would be held to a draw by their spirited opponents Ronaldo completed his hat-trick when he smashed a free-kick in at the near-post with fifteen minutes left of the match.
The trio of goals made it 21 goals in all competitions since his homecoming last summer and after the match interim manager Rangnick was asked whether or not the veteran forward still has a future at the club under their next manager.
"This is in the end not my decision," Rangnick told reporters. "Cristiano has got another year of contract. This will be a decision for the new manager to take, together with the board.
"Again, he showed against Tottenham and today's game, that he can be the difference maker, in moments like this, in games like this, and it is no coincidence he has the best goalscoring record of all players in history. He showed that again today."