Match report for the away defeat in the evening clash with Manchester United
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Cristiano Ronaldo's night turned from gold to goals when his double strike gave Manchester United a comfortable Premier League victory over West Ham at Old Trafford.
Before the game, Ronaldo had received the Golden Boot Award for being Europe's leading scorer last season with 42 goals.
As if that trophy was not enough, United's 23-year-old Portuguese winger also received the FIFA Pro World Trophy Player of the Year Award - this time in silver.
But when play started, it was Ronaldo who was on target on the pitch with two of the simplest goals he will ever score.
The first, after 14 minutes, stemmed from Anderson's fine pass down the left which found Nani hovering on the edge of the Hammers box.
Nani rolled an inch-perfect cross into the path of his compatriot Ronaldo, who scored with a crisp low left-foot shot from 12 yards.
Ronaldo's second strike came 16 minutes later. Anderson produced another superb pass down the left - this time to find Dimitar Berbatov.
The Bulgarian showed mouth-watering skill on the left byline as his clever touch put the ball past a bemused James Collins and his low cross was despatched left footed by Ronaldo from close range at the near post.
Despite his two goals, this was a night when Ronaldo's performance was put in the shade by Nani.
When he was replaced by Wayne Rooney 20 minutes from the end, Nani had covered almost every blade of grass on the Old Trafford pitch.
United won without really breaking into a sweat, although their almost nonchalant approach in the last 20 minutes could easily have let West Ham back into the game.
Berbatov and Nani had chances for the Reds before Ronaldo's opener, but West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green's only real save in the first half came from a Carlos Tevez header deep into stoppage time.
In the second half, Green twice denied Ronaldo his hat-trick when he kept out shots from just outside and inside the box.
But his best stop was a full-length dive to keep out Rooney's blistering 73rd-minute drive.
United's complacency almost let in the Hammers late on.
In the 75th minute, an unmarked Luis Boa Morte shot tamely at United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak after being found in the penalty area by Craig Bellamy's glorious 50-yard pass.
Then, with three minutes to go, David Di Michele mis-kicked from ten yards out with only Kuszczak to beat and the goal at his mercy. |
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