Saviour of United acts like fine wine

Has there ever been a worse time to be a Manchester United fan? Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, United has gone through four permanent (Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho and Ole) and three interim managers (Giggs, Carrick and Ragnick). 

Meanwhile, their two closest regional rivals – Manchester City and Liverpool have become the most dominant teams not just in England but in Europe, both coached by epochal managers whose tactical legacies of tiki-taka and gegenpressing have redefined the game.

Contrastingly, the once-mighty United juggernaut ambles on — a tribute more to Mammon than football — more bothered about merchandise sales, bottom lines and social media engagements than wins on the field.

Last week, they managed to lose to Everton, a team which looked incapable of beating anyone. The fans and the media did not back off from criticizing the historic club and its dire fall to the ground. As such was the case with one of history's greatest player and a hero of United Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, age is just a myth and so is the unrequited criticism by people. 

You have to be one of the greatest ever player in the history of the beautiful game to be the first number 7 of Red Devils to score 20 goals in a season since you being the last one to do so more than a decade ago in your first term at the club.

With age, any player would get worse and lose their certain skills; that is no different for Cristiano Ronaldo. He lost his skills that he had in his first term at United but since he is one of the greatest, he converted himself in the most clinical and dangerous goal-scorer of all-time. 

It is insane to even realize how the Portuguese great scored 30 hattricks before turning 30 and 30 more hattricks from the age of 30 till 37 right now today. Among the all 60 hattricks, 50 were for club and 10 for country.

At the age of 37, it is unbelievable how Cristiano is saving Manchester United again and again to get a Champions League spot with crucial goals and some of them being world class like his name defines. He scored 21 goals in all competitions this season for the crucified club and almost all of them being in crucial situations.

United since Ferguson retired has taken the hue of a slapstick comedy with a Sisyphean struggle and Erik Ten Hag will already be wondering if he has made a mistake by promising to wear this particular crown of thrones but it is moments like this when a soporific United team becomes 'united' at the Theatre of Dreams with a theatric performance of a player of only his kind.

Things looked dire on Sunday afternoon in the city of Manchester as bottom-of-the-table Norwich came back from 0-2 down to threaten United before the man who refuses to bow to Father Time had his say.

Ronaldo's match-winning hattrick was the only silver lining in a shambolic performance. The irony is people even mentioned how he is the weak link to this United team while Harry Maguire pulled off a Puskas-level scorpion kick to the head of his own teammate Paul Labile Pogba.

Over the last 16 years, Ronaldo has shown that he can do it everywhere – from a cold night in Stoke to warm afternoons in Madrid to lazy evenings in Turin. 

There were rumblings when United re-signed him, with many wondering if he still had it in his 37-year-old legs to still do it in the fast-paced Premier League. 

When Ronaldo returned for his second debut against Newcastle, commentator Peter Drury's epic monologue had gone viral: "Reeved in red. Restored to this great gallery of the game. A walking work of art. Vintage beyond valuation, beyond forgery or imitation. 18 years since that trembling teenager of touch and tease first tiptoed onto this storied stage. Now in his immaculate maturity. CR7 Reunited." 

With the mind-boggling longevity, Ronaldo has surpassed beyond expectations. Although some will hold him responsible for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking yet one can hardly blame him for the club's failings in other positions including midfield or defence. Of course, there's some validity to the argument that Ronaldo's presence prevents United from playing the top-down pressing style that's in vogue now.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player aged 36 or over to score 15+ goals in a single Premier League season. 

There is no denying that Ronaldo's time will eventually come to a halt as well just like other sporting greats Schumacher, Federer, Zidane, etc. but it is a fact that even Father Time is having a difficult time to put a stop on Cristiano Ronaldo's undying enthusiasm.