Ronaldo hat-trick bolsters Manchester United's Champions League hopes

United's 3-2 win over Norwich narrows the gap on top four

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Jadon Sancho after completing his hat-trick in the 3-2 victory over Norwich at Old Trafford on April 16. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates giving Manchester United the lead. EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring his second goal. AP

Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the second goal. AFP

Ronaldo scores United's second goal. Getty

Norwich City's Kieran Dowell scores past goalkeeper David de Gea. AP

Norwich City's Teemu Pukki celebrates levelling the scores at 2-2. Reuters

Ronaldo scores his third. Getty

Ronaldo celebrates his hat-trick. Getty

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning free-kick to complete his hat-trick and secure Manchester United a 3-2 win over Norwich to boost their hopes of securing a Champions League spot.

United moved past Arsenal into fifth place with the victory, three points behind Tottenham in the Premier League.

But they did it the hard way, blowing a two-goal lead as bottom club Norwich fought back to level the game at 2-2 with goals from Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki at Old Trafford.

But the day belonged to the Portugal superstar, who recorded the 50th hat-trick of his professional career for his clubs, and 60th overall.

Ronaldo's goal in the seventh minute was courtesy of Anthony Elanga, who stole the ball from defender Ben Gibson in the area and slid a pass to him for an easy one-timer past goalkeeper Tim Krul.

Ronaldo then headed home a corner kick in the 32nd, before his party-piece free-kick from outside the area that sailed through the wall and off Krul’s outstretched hands into the top left corner of the net.

A first win in five weeks for Ralf Rangnick’s side was hardly a resounding response to last week’s loss at Everton, but surprise defeats for Tottenham and Arsenal on Saturday have injected new life into United’s top-four hopes.

By contrast, Dean Smith’s rock-bottom Norwich saw their chances of beating the drop dim as Ronaldo proved their undoing on an afternoon when off-field anger dominated the pre-match conversation.