Cristiano Ronaldo sends 'you need me' message after Manchester United treble

Andy Cole has praised Manchester United hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo and believes his Tottenham Hotspur showing illustrated his importance to Ralf Rangnick's side.

The 37-year-old's night was action-packed as he took home the match ball and became the most prolific men's footballer ever scoring his 805th, 806th and 807th professional goals. At the same time, he reignited their Champions League hopes as they returned to the top four.

Arsenal, who play on Sunday, slip to fifth whilst Ronaldo needed to fire the Reds back into the lead on three occasions after Harry Kane's spot-kick, following a handball from Alex Telles. Before Harry Maguire inadvertently poked beyond David de Gea but in the dying minutes, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner leapt highest to power his header past the stranded Hugo Lloris.

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"That man Cristiano Ronaldo, he just keeps writing his own history book," the Premier League-winning striker told Premier League Productions. "He's absolutely phenomenal.

"Fifty-nine hat-tricks, 807 goals... give me a break! It's a massive, massive result for Man Utd. And whatever happened last week, I think he's proven now and told everyone: you need me."

In what was only his second hat-trick for the Reds, it comes at a crucial time as they now gear up for the Champions League second leg against the Spanish champions.

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