Confirmed : CR7 proved he's Man Utd captain without an armband before Norwich Masterclass

 Cristiano Ronaldo embraced nine 

Manchester United players before their 3-

2 win over Norwich City - proving he's a 

huge figure in the dressing room.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored 

a hat-trick on Saturday afternoon to keep

 United's top four dreams alive.

Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in 

the summer and despite rumours of discontent

, he's one of their key players.

His influence is unmatched and before 

both teams made their way onto the pitch 

this weekend, Ronaldo knew his experience

 was needed.

The 37-year-old made his way to 

goalkeeper David de Gea and captain Harry 

Maguire to exchange a few words before high

-fiving Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot and 

Alex Telles.

Ronaldo then approached Anthony Elanga,

 Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba before stopping

 Bruno Fernandes in his path to wish him luck.

The only player Ronaldo didn't have a chance

 to speak to was Jadon Sancho who was 

catching up with fellow Bundesliga alumni 

and Norwich forward Milot Rashica.

Ronaldo lead by example on the pitch and

 opened the scoring inside seven minutes 

after a mistake in the Canaries backline.

Ben Gibson dawdled on the ball in his 

own box and Elanga dispossessed him to 

put it on a plate for Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner doubled 

his tally in the 32nd minute after heading 

home a corner.

Norwich did get one back just before halftime

 with Kieran Dowell's first Premier League

 goal, before Teemu Pukki's equaliser after

 the break.

nearly completed a sensational comeback 

and forced a remarkable save from de Gea.

Ronaldo would step up to score his first

 free-kick since July 2020 to secure all three

 points for the home side.

Defeats for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal

 to Brighton and Southampton respectively 

have given United hope in the hunt for a 

Champions League place.

Ralf Rangnick's side were seventh at the 

start of the weekend but are now fifth, just

 three points behind Tottenham in fourth.

United travel to Anfield to face bitter rivals

 Liverpool on Tuesday evening Ragnick

 knows his side will need to up their game.

He told the club's official website: "We 

have to focus on our own performance. 

The result was good, it will lift our momentum

 and the confidence of the team, but we 

have to be realistic.

"With that kind of performance it will 

be almost impossible to get something out

 of the away game against Liverpool

, and then also away against Arsenal and 

home against Chelsea will be difficult.

"We need to play better against the ball 

with more physicality, with more aggressiveness

. This was the biggest issue and the biggest 

thing that I was not happy with today.