MANCHESTER: Cristiano Ronaldo became only the second player in football history to score 800 career goals during Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Arsenal but his achievement was overshadowed when caretaker manager Michael Carrick quit after the match.
The 36-year-old brought up his milestone – which only Czech great Josef Bican is said to have reached (805+ from 1931 to 1957) according to FIFA records – by sweeping home inside the box to give his side a 2-1 lead.
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard’s grabbed an immediate equaliser but Ronaldo then converted a penalty with 20 minutes remaining to raise the Old Trafford roof once again as they sealed a 3-2 victory.
Carrick, in charge for three matches, said: “After a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave.”
Carrick, a five-time Premier League winner during 12 years as a player at United, took over as caretaker boss after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked on 21 November.
He took charge of the 2-0 Champions League away win to Villarreal on 23 November before dropping Cristiano Ronaldo to the substitutes bench for the 1-1 draw at Chelsea last Sunday.
Spurs win
Antonio Conte’s unbeaten league start as Tottenham boss continued as they kept pace with the top four with a comfortable win over a lacklustre Brentford.
A 12th-minute own goal from right wing-back Sergi Canos gave them the lead, before Son Heung-min finished off a scintillating counter-attack in the second half.
The opener came from a Son dinked cross after a short corner, with Pontus Jansson’s clearing header ricocheting off Ben Davies and onto Canos before flying into the roof of the net.
Spurs pressed for more goals, with Son denied from range in the first half, while Harry Kane saw a one-on-one effort well saved by Alvaro Fernandez after the break.
Son grabbed the goal that his performance, and Spurs’ display, deserved when he latched onto Sergio Reguilon’s cross to tap home from six yards.
It was a limp display from Brentford, with their only shot on target in the whole game a tame left-footed effort from Ivan Toney.
Tottenham climb to sixth – two points behind West Ham in fourth – while Brentford slip to 12th
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