Cristiano Ronaldo has the goalscoring record of a striker and, last night, he scored goals in the manner of one, too. This was no magician’s show, no masterclass of quick feet and dizzying technique. It did not have to be, such was Manchester United’s superiority. Even so, as Carlos Tévez experienced 90 minutes that were frustration personified and Wayne Rooney missed a sitter on his return from injury, Ronaldo gave his forward partners a lesson in the fine art of the clinical finish.
With his first, a shot from close range into the roof of the net, and his second, a powerful header, Ronaldo took his total for the season to 13, making him the most prolific scorer in the country, one ahead of Robbie Keane, the Tottenham Hotspur captain. The Ireland player is a striker by trade, however, while Ronaldo is a midfield player who scores, although there could soon be a demarcation dispute if he carries on like this. Last season he found the net 23 times, against Fulham he passed beyond the halfway stage for that total with three weeks to go before Christmas. Even in a team who create as many chances as United, it is a stunning achievement.
Ronaldo missed out on the European Footballer of the Year crown at the weekend, beaten by Kaká, of AC Milan, and the same result is expected at the world event, but in the domestic game his supremacy is unsurpassed. Cesc Fàbregas was in brilliant form for Arsenal until his hamstring injury, but if Ronaldo scores 30 goals from midfield for his club — and that is his trajectory at present — who would bet against him retaining the title of domestic Footballer of the Year?
Ignore his booking for diving. The referee, Rob Styles, made an embarrassing error and will no doubt realise his foolishness the moment he watches a replay. Ronaldo was caught by Antti Niemi, the Fulham goalkeeper, as he ran through one-on-one and the correct decision would have been to give a penalty. Even if there had been no contact, the nature of Niemi’s challenge meant that Ronaldo had to jump high to avoid a collision and he should have been indulged for that, at least. To place an accusation of fakery against a man, the referee should be absolutely sure. Styles appeared to be acting on no more than a hunch, and a rotten one at that, and it was no surprise that Sir Alex Ferguson was deeply unimpressed.
“It was the result of the referee having a perceived idea that Ronaldo dives,” the United manager said. “He is not like that any more, he is a mature, magnificent footballer, but he is paying for this reputation.
“In fairness to the referee, though, the goalkeeper conned him. He claimed straight away that Ronaldo dived; they all do it. It was a ridiculous decision. He was going on goal full pelt — why would he dive anyway?”
Styles sent Ronaldo off in May 2004 at Villa Park for kicking the ball away, a point that was not lost on the player, although he was dignified in accepting the decision. “I was trying to do my job, he was trying to do his job and I respect that,” he said. “My feeling was that it was a penalty, but it was not the important thing tonight. The important thing was three points.”
These were secured by Ronaldo, naturally. Such was United’s control of the game, he had it won from the tenth minute, when Fulham made a dreadful mess of clearing a corner from Ryan Giggs, Steven Davis heading the ball back into the penalty area after Dejan Stefanovic had cleared it. Nemanja Vidic headed it on, at which point Ronaldo grew tired of the whole haphazard process and lashed the ball past Niemi, almost impatiently.
The clincher came after 58 minutes when John O’Shea, the United substitute, crossed from the left and Ronaldo rose above a less-than-alert Stefanovic to head the ball into the corner of the net. It would have been a routine goal coming from a striker; that it was the work of a player whose gift is at its greatest when the ball is on the ground demonstrated what sets Ronaldo apart from his peers. Well, all but one of them, anyway, according to the football writers of Europe.
Ferguson complained that United missed an uncommon number of chances and, on that front, it was hard to disagree. Tévez, alone, could have added six goals to the scoreline, even before half-time. Time and again, he carved Fulham open, only to be frustrated by a storming turn from Niemi or a failing in the execution. It would be harsh to be too tough on the Argentina striker, though. For long periods, he was the most exciting player on the field.
It would be too time-consuming to recount his misses in full, so here is the potted version: heads wide at full stretch from a cross by Anderson (three minutes); low shot saved after a one-two with Wes Brown (5); shot blocked by Stefanovic after good work by Giggs and Rooney (7); brilliant stop by Niemi after a cross by Giggs, Tévez’s near-post header striking him in the face (22); header wide after Fulham failed to clear another corner by Giggs (32); curling, inswinging shot from an acute angle, forcing an athletic save from Niemi (45).
Tévez was not at fault for the two second-half errors in front of goal, however, which fell to Rooney and Louis Saha, the substitute, left one-on-one with the goalkeeper without success. “It was a reasonable performance, but too many chances were missed,” Ferguson said. “We’re usually better than that because we were left with the goalkeeper quite a few times and did nothing with it.”
Perhaps as surprising as United’s failure was the short spell when Fulham could have equalised. Danny Murphy twice came close with shots and Shefki Kuqi headed a good chance over.
Not a night for strikers, then. Not much of a night for the referee. If only everything was as reliable as Ronaldo.
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