Ralf Rangnick praises Man Utd duo’s ‘best performances’ under him in Spurs win

In United’s 3-2 triumph over Tottenham on Saturday, Ronaldo scored his 59th hat-trick of the season, while Fred picked up an assist and caused Spurs difficulties throughout.

With Bruno Fernandes unable to play due to illness, Fred stepped up in the middle of the park, and his manager was impressed.

‘He’s definitely the finest ball-winner, along with Scott McTominay,’ Rangnick remarked.

‘The best player when the opposing team is in possession, but he also demonstrated tonight, with the number of balls he gave and an assist, that he can also play in counter-attacks and transitional periods. Since I’ve been here, it’s also been one of his best games.’

But the night belonged to Ronaldo, who increased his total to 807 goals for club and country, surpassing Josef Bican’s 805 goals to become the FIFA-recognized all-time best goalscorer.

‘It was his best performance to date, at least since I’ve been here.’ He did well in training on Thursday, so I decided to put him in the game. ‘He put up a fantastic performance, as did the rest of the team,’ Rangnick added.

‘He can do it [get 70,000 people to get up], but he can also do it with just the team.’ This was an outstanding performance. It wasn’t only the three goals today; he was also a key member of the team when they had the ball.

‘Given the caliber of the opposition, that was perhaps our best performance.’ It was important; we needed to win the game, and it will increase our confidence for the next one.’