EPL results: Ronaldo scores brace as Man United go top of table

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his second debut for Manchester United as the Red Devils defeated Newcastle United 4-1 in their English Premier League (EPL) encounter at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

The 36-year-old scored the first and second goals in a packed stadium full of fans who lined up to see their hero once again.

Ronaldo’s strikes were his 119th and 120th for Man United, and his first since he left in 2009 as Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard completed the goals on the afternoon.

A lacklustre first half ended in jubilation as Ronaldo scored in added time to give United the lead. He pounced on a goalkeeper mistake to tap into the net from four yards out for a 1-0 lead at the interval.

Newcastle United had luck going forward in the first half and they made it count ten minutes into the second half on the counter through Javier Maquillo who blasted into the bottom far corner for 1-1.

Ronaldo would, however, regain the lead for the hosts on 61 minutes with a well-taken goal from another counterattack.

Luke Shaw fed the galloping Ronaldo who slalomed into the box before slamming the ball through the keeper’s legs for 2-1.

Fernandes, Man United’s usual talisman, scored the third with a brilliant 25-yard screamer from outside the area after being afforded space to take aim at goal for his fourth goal of the season, and Lingard added gloss to the victory with another fine strike in added time.

Manchester United remains unbeaten and are top of the EPL table with 10 points after four games.

In other matches, Arsenal got their first points of the season with a 1-0 win over Norwich City, thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half goal, while ten-man Tottenham’s unbeaten start ended following a 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.

At Leicester City, Wilfred Ndidi played all 90 minutes while Kelechi Iheanacho was a second-half substitute as the Foxes lost 1-0 to Manchester City.

Results

• Crystal Palace 3-0 Tottenham
• Leicester City 0-1 Manchester City
• Manchester United 4-1 Newcastle United
• Arsenal 1-0 Norwich City
• Watford 0-2 Wolves
• Southampton 0-0 West Ham United
• Brentford 0-1 Brighton