Ten Hag backs Ronaldo to hit his stride after Man Utd star scores 700th club goal

Erik ten Hag is confident Cristiano Ronaldo will hit his stride after scoring his 700th club goal – and his first of the 2022-23 Premier League season – in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Everton.

Ronaldo had endured a frustrating campaign prior to his outing at Goodison Park, a ground on which he had never previously scored a Premier League goal, but he proved decisive after entering the fray in the first half. 

Antony cancelled out Alex Iwobi’s opener before Ronaldo replaced the injured Anthony Martial, and the 37-year-old quickly made his mark by firing a left-footed finish beyond Jordan Pickford.

That strike was Ronaldo’s 700th in club football and his 144th across two spells at Old Trafford, and ensured United bounced back from last week’s derby thrashing by Manchester City.

Speaking at a post-match news conference, Ten Hag congratulated Ronaldo on his landmark and backed him to hit a rich vein of form in the coming weeks.

“That is really impressive, when you score 700 goals,” Ten Hag said. “It’s a huge performance, I’m really happy for him. 

“I congratulate him on that performance and I’m also happy it’s his first goal this season in the Premier League. He had to wait for it and I’m sure there will be more goals.

“I think every player needs it, even when you are the best in the world, you need it, you need the goals.

“I worked with many goalscorers, especially them, they need goals in every season to have that feeling, to have the confirmation of their intuition. 

“Once they have some goals, they come in the flow and games go easier. That will happen with him as well.”

United had lost eight of their previous 10 away league games ahead of their trip to Merseyside – including last Sunday’s dismal loss at the Etihad Stadium, and Ten Hag was pleased with the improvements on display.

“First of all, criticism is normal when you have a defeat, especially in a big game, in a derby, so we have to deal with that and you learn lessons,” Ten Hag added.

“In this moment, we collect the points, it’s not looking at the table, we have to win every game – it’s our aim. 

“We have to improve every game, we have to improve the process, we have to prepare every game 100 per cent and we demand from the players that in every game they give their best.

“You see in this game, the spirit is really good in the squad – it’s not only the 11 players. 

“Again, a sub coming on and scoring a goal, you see Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay and Raphael Varane coming in, so we use more than 11 players and I am happy with that process.”

United goalkeeper David De Gea also praised Ronaldo following the win, hailing him for maintaining a professional attitude despite starting just one league game under Ten Hag.

“He’s never been in this situation before, but the way he works and trains, it’s just unbelievable,” De Gea told BT Sport. “It’s not easy times for him, but he showed he’s a great player.”

With De Gea’s United contract expiring at the end of the season – although the club has an option for an extra year – the Spaniard also revealed he would like to commit his future to the club.

“I’m just very focused on the games, helping the team as much as I can,” he added. “Of course, I would like to be here for more years, so let’s see what happens in the future. I’m really, really happy here.”