"Best performance from him" - Rangnick hails Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick in Manchester United's win over Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick hailed Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational display in the 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur. The German boss termed CR7's hat-trick as the 'best performance' from the Portuguese superstar under his tenure at Old Trafford.

It was an exciting affair as both teams are both teams are chasing the final Champions League spot. The Red Devils went home with all three points courtesy of a performance from Ronaldo.

Following the game, Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick joked:

"Maybe he should go to Portugal every week!"

Ronaldo's name popped up several times last week after it was reported he had left for Portugal during the team's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad.

Ronaldo, who had been ruled out of the match due to a hip flexor injury, was a notable absentee from the stands.

It was speculated that the Manchester United number seven was not happy with his role as a substitute under Rangnick and hence left for Portugal.

The 37-year-old only joined training on Thursday and had a phenomenal game against Spurs on Saturday after just two days of training.

Rangnick also claimed that managing Cristiano Ronaldo has been 'a challenge' for him. The German boss hailed the performance of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner as the 'best' since he arrived, both on and off the ball.

In his post-match press-conference, the German said, as quoted by The Daily Mail:

"We were just joking and maybe it makes sense to send him to Portugal for three days, then have him not training for two days, then have him back training on Thursday, if that's the way he performs. Maybe we'll have to do that for the rest of the season."

Rangnick added:

"He was on a similar level in training on Thursday by the way, which is why I decided after that training session to play him from the start. He made the difference for sure, but not only for the three goals. That was the best performance from him, at least since I arrived here, on and off the ball."

Rangnick claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo has once again proved that he still has what it takes to play for a club like Manchester United.

"Yeah it is challenging. It's a challenge with a player like him," he continued. But he showed today that he's still got the quality to play for a club like Manchester United. If we want to be successful at the end of the season, we have to do it together. He showed that he is physically able to do that, but we also have to admit he has not always been like that the past couple of weeks and months."

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Manchester United have their top-four hopes alive thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time top scorer in the history of the game following his hat-trick against Spurs, having taken his tally to 807.

Thanks to their much-needed win yesterday, the Red Devils are now back in fourth place in the table and have a two-point lead over Arsenal.

The Gunners, however, have four games in hand over the Red Devils and will play Leicester City on Sunday.