Cristiano Ronaldo netted a second half double to fire Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford while Tottenham Hotspur eased Antonio Conte’s worries with a 2-3 win over Brentford.
Manchester United 3-2 Arsenal
Ronaldo surpassed 800 goals for club and country with a double as Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-2 to close to within three points of the Premier League top four.
With new interim manager Ralf Rangnick watching from the stands, the German was given a glimpse of both the talent he will have to work with and problems he has to solve at Old Trafford.
Arsenal went ahead in bizarre circumstances as Emile Smith Rowe’s shot trickled in with United goalkeeper David De Gea down injured before Bruno Fernandes levelled.
Ronaldo’s 800th career goal was quickly cancelled out by Martin Odegaard.
But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had the final say when he crashed home a penalty 20 minutes from time.
A vital victory for United cuts the gap between the sides to two points in the battle for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Three points also rounds off a fine stint for Michael Carrick in caretaker charge since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked after progress to the Champions League last 16 and a creditable 1-1 draw at Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Tottenham 2-0 Brentford
Son Heung-min helped Tottenham get back on track as the South Korean’s first Premier League goal since October sealed a 2-0 win against Brentford on Thursday.
Antonio Conte’s side were last in action seven days ago for an embarrassing 2-1 defeat against Slovenian minnows NS Mura in the Europa Conference League.
A Sergi Canos own goal gave Tottenham the lead in the first half and Son wrapped up their second successive Premier League win after the interval.
It was Son’s 75th top-flight goal since joining the north Londoners from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.
Tottenham are up to sixth place after extending their unbeaten league run under Conte to three matches since he replaced the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo in November.
