Things we learned as Ronaldo scores hat-trick and becomes football’s all-time top goalscorer 

Football legend Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick and became football’s all-time top scorer in Manchester United’s 3-2 home win over Tottenham on Saturday.

According to the official FIFA records, Ronaldo’s new total of 807 goals sees him overtake Josef Bican’s previous record of 805 to stand alone as the game’s greatest goalscorer.

Here are things we learned from a thrilling encounter in Manchester.

Ronaldo rolls back the years

Twice, Manchester United had been pegged back by Tottenham. Luckily, they had Cristiano Ronaldo fresh and ready to take his frustration out on the opposition.

Most football fans will remember the moment when, back in 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo scored an incredible 40-yard effort against Porto in the Champions League for his club. Nearly 13 years later, the Portuguese produced an eerily similar strike against Tottenham that proved the 37-year-old has some magic left in his wand of a right foot.

After United looked to have been denied three points by a Harry Maguire own goal, Ronaldo rose above everyone to head home a brilliant winner to seal his hat-trick and send a reminder to all of his doubters that he remains a special player.

Maguire's misery goes on

Harry Maguire cannot catch a break. Just when the centre-back may have felt he was having a decent game, at least compared to his recent performances, the Man United captain found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reguilon's cross was teasing enough to convince the 29-year-old he could try and clear it, but also enough to introduce that risk of putting it into his own goal. Given his luck lately, it was no surprise to see the ball nestle into the net past David de Gea.

There has been enough from Maguire's time at the club to suggest this is nothing more than a rough patch, that he remains a quality defender. But at the same time, there is no end in sight of his individual errors costing United crucial points.

Conte’s rallying call remains unanswered

Antonio Conte was realistic that his players had not been consistent enough for him to get excited about their dominant 5-0 win over Everton in midweek and challenged them to carry on where they left off against Manchester United.

“Today it’s good to celebrate because we won 5-0 but I want an answer from my players in the game against United on Saturday," he said after the game.

Even if it took a moment of magic from Ronaldo to open the scoring rather than a defensive error, Conte will feel his side didn’t do enough to stop the veteran striker from striking from distance.

Sancho finding his feet

With no Bruno Fernandes available, Rangnick switched to a three-man attack with Sancho and Marcus Rashford providing support out wide to Ronaldo.

Ronaldo might have scored the two goals, but it was Sancho who lit up the first half with arguably his finest performance in a United shirt. From the left, he led United’s counter-attacks with direct runs in behind.

It was crucial that the 21-year-old sprung the offside trap to set up Ronaldo for an easy finish and another example of how United are gradually finding out how to best utilise him.

Wing-backs fail to deliver for Spurs

One of the most notable aspects of Spurs’ convincing win over Everton in their last fixture was the use of wing-backs to carve open Everton’s defence. But at Old Trafford, Spurs struggled to get Sergio Reguilon and Matt Doherty involved in the first half.

The Spaniard spent most of his time pegged back trying to mark Rashford, while Doherty’s contributions were limited due to Dejan Kulusevksi’s quiet display. It was no surprise to see the visitors blunted in attack.

Rangnick rings the changes

Ralf Rangnick’s response to last weeks’ Manchester derby defeat was to make five changes to his starting XI.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the most notable among them, with Marcus Rashford, Nemanja Matic, Diogo Dalot and Raphael Varane coming back in too.

It did not produce a huge improvement, but it did perhaps spring the odd surprise for Antonio Conte as well as sending a message to the squad.

United struggle to dominate

Spurs are at their best when they can sit back and counter attack but United’s defensive issues meant that they looked confident popping the ball around.

They did not create a host of chances, which might suggest Rangnick’s approach was justified but there was not a huge response from United.

When Spurs made it 1-1, it was a deserved reward for their performance to that point and Atletico Madrid may have been watching with intent as United showed that a traditionally counter-punching side can dominate possession at Old Trafford.

Rashford misses chance to shine

Rashford was replaced by Anthony Elanga on 67 minutes, at which point he had not had a shot or a key pass to his name.

 Rashford’s future has been a hot topic since the derby and Rangnick’s response was to put him in from the start and give him a chance to rekindle his form.

It is fair to say that Rashford did not take that chance and there was an occasion in the second half when he should have taken on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but did not, which summed up his current performance level and lack of confidence.

United move into fourth

United went into this game knowing that a victory here would move them into fourth place in the Premier League, while a defeat would have basically ruled them out of the race.

After five dropped points in the last two games against Watford and Manchester City, United had to take that opportunity here and Ronaldo ensured that they did.