Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a
trademark free-kick only three minutes into the game at Old
Trafford as Manchester United cruised to a five-goal victory.
Ronaldo was also on target with another free-kick at the end of
the game to grab his ninth goal of the season.
According to the club’s official website, manager Sir Alex
Ferguson admitted he feels Ronaldo is back to the sort of form that
saw him score 42 goals for the Red Devils last season.
“You saw his celebration, he was very pleased and the crowd were
delighted,” said the Scot before adding, “"He's on fire now, he's
back. He's overcome his operation and he is getting quicker with
every game. His fitness levels are fantastic. The boy is back.”
Goals from Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov and a debut goal by
Danny Welbeck sealed the win against a Stoke City that had
previously beaten Arsenal and secured a draw against Liverpool at
Anfield.
The champions coped well with the physical threat offered by the
Potters and Ferguson admitted his side had prepared well for the
threat of Rory Delap’s infamous throw-ins. He said: “We did some
work on it during the week. We handled the throw-ins very well - I
think the crowd helped us there!”
The result sees United leapfrog Arsenal into third in the table
and next up for the Red Devils is a trip to Villa Park to face
Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa.
