Premier League Round-Up: Ronaldo hat-trick fires Man Utd back into top-four race

“That win, coupled with favourable results in all other fixtures involving top-four contenders, saw United rise to fifth in the table, three points behind Tottenham. United can now be backed at 7.413/2 on the Betfair Exchange in the Top 4 Finish market.”

Manchester United resurrected their top-four hopes on Saturday with the help of slip-ups from their Champions League-chasing rivals and a 50th career hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

The title chase took a break this weekend due to Manchester City and Liverpool facing off in the FA Cup semi-final, with the Reds edging another thrilling encounter between the country’s two best sides.

In the absence of the top two, the battle for fourth came into sharper focus, and even though United were the weekend’s big winners, they made hard work of their 3-2 victory over bottom-placed Norwich.

Some generous defending from the visitors saw United race to a 2-0 lead in the first half at Old Trafford. First, in just the seventh minute, Anthony Elanga robbed Ben Gibson of possession in the Norwich penalty area and squared for Ronaldo to side-foot home a simple finish.

Then Ronaldo was left unmarked at a corner and drilled a trademark header into the bottom corner of Tim Krul’s net.

But Norwich played with bite and soon began to carve chances of their own.

Either side of the break, the Canaries exploited unguarded space down United’s left flank to pull level. Teemu Pukki set up their first for Kieran Dowell and scored the equaliser himself.

United relied on a couple of vintage David de Gea saves in the second period to prevent the away side from adding to their tally. And it was Ronaldo who was ultimately decisive, hitting the target with a 25-yard free-kick. Norwich keeper Tim Krul will be disappointed not to have kept out the Portuguese’s effort having gotten two hands to the ball with his dive. United’s No.7 raced to the corner to celebrate his 15th league goal of the season.

That win, coupled with favourable results in all other fixtures involving top-four contenders, saw United rise to fifth in the table, three points behind Tottenham.

United can now be backed at 7.413/2 on the Betfair Exchange in the Top 4 Finish market.

Spurs slip

Tottenham continue to hold the advantage in the race for the final Champions League-qualification position, but their grip on fourth loosened on Saturday after an unexpected 1-0 loss to Brighton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Graham Potter’s side were deserving of their three points.

It took until the 90th minute for the game’s only goal to arrive – a delicious, outside-of-the-boot finish from close range by Leandro Trossard – but Brighton had already registered four shots on target by that stage while Spurs managed not a single one all game.

Of those in the hunt for fourth, Tottenham remain the favourites on the Exchange to finish there. They can be backed at 1.68/13.

Arsenal slide continues

Fourth place had looked like Arsenal’s to lose just a few short weeks ago, but their defeat at the hands of Southampton on Saturday means they have now lost three league games in a row and four of their last five.

The Gunners can count themselves somewhat unfortunate on this occasion, as Fraser Forster in the Southampton goal made a string of jaw-dropping saves to keep out the hosts, before and after Jan Bednarek’s goal in the 44th minute.

Arsenal, now sixth in the table, are 3.55/2 on the Exchange to finish fourth this season.

West Ham were always fringe contenders for a top-four spot, and their hopes of an against-the-odds entry into the Champions League took a hit on Sunday afternoon.

Results on Saturday presented David Moyes’ men with an opportunity to close to within three points of fourth place. But a 1-1 home draw with relegation-battling Burnley might have put paid to any lingering top-four ambitions.

The Hammers are 6059/1 on the Exchange in the Top 4 Finish market.