MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fourth goal in his last five Premier League games to help Manchester United beat Burnley 3-1 on Thursday for its biggest win under recently hired manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ronaldo grabbed the third of United’s first-half goals, tapping into an empty net in the 35th minute after Scott McTominay’s long-range shot was tipped onto the post by Burnley goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.
McTominay, with a curling shot from the edge of the area, and an own-goal by Ben Mee had set United on course for victory to bounce back from a disappointing display in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle on Monday.
Aaron Lennon capped an entertaining first half by finding the net with a shot into the far corner to reduce the deficit in the 38th with his first goal since September 2018.
By then, United had done enough to secure a third win in four league games under Rangnick and climb above Tottenham into sixth place.
United is still 19 points behind leader Manchester City, having played two games fewer.
It was Burnley's first game since Dec. 12, having seen fixtures against Watford, Aston Villa and Everton get postponed since then because of COVID-19 outbreaks in opponents' squads.
It was Ronaldo's 14th goal in all competitions for United this season.
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