Scoring in front of Stretford End was 'THE' moment

Did we think he would come to Manchester again? Probably yes, probably not. Was he ever going to the other side of the Manchester City Center? Never! Was this really a dream? Yes, a part of it was. Cristiano coming back to his beloved Manchester was a dream without a shadow of a doubt but him scoring in his second debut was definitely nowhere near a dream. It was something everyone anticipated and was ready for. Pogba to Greenwood in the right-wing, Greenwood with a shot on target, deflects off goalkeeper's gloves and there is one of Manchester's favourite sons to tap it in. Many of them would say - 'Oh it's just a tap-in'. We need to understand that it's not the tap-in that is special. It's the positioning, the awareness and the ability to visualise the moment faster than others. There were 3 red shirts in the box at that exact moment. It was only Cristiano who got to the ball so it's not 'just' a tap-in. 

Newcastle showed tremendous fight and levelled soon after halftime to try and gatecrash the party. Exactly six minutes later, United broke on a counter-attack that saw Luke Shaw make a sumptuous pass to Cristiano. The great man, with lightning speed, controlled it and blasted the shot with his weaker foot. All of Old Trafford went beserk. They say this was the loudest Old Trafford has been since Sir Alex's farewell match and Eric Cantona's comeback match after the 9 month ban. This was the most unexpected moment of the day. The tap-in was emotional but such a brilliant goal in front of Stretford End was the cherry on top.

The second 'siu' meant much more in the context of the game and in United's Premier League campaign. Would this brace have been special 13 years ago? Definitely not because United back then was much different and much stronger. This is crucial because it was these kind of games that United were losing points off last year. They finished second 12 points behind their bitter rivals and neighbours just a few miles away. Remember that the red devils almost went unbeaten on the road. They dropped points at Old Trafford against teams like Crystal Palace and West Ham whom you normally expect United to beat. What Cristiano will do is provide and instil confidence and belief in the team that was not finding ways to score important goals last season. When the game is at 1-1 with 15 mins to go, that's where you need someone to give the team the edge and Cristiano is probably the missing puzzle that United might have found to complete the Jigsaw that Solskjar started to assemble 3 years back.

Raphael Varane was a great signing. Sancho was something that was always going to happen. It was more of a relief than joy to finally Jadon Sancho. Cristiano was unexpected and it was big. To sign the greatest goalscorer in the history of the game and probably the most influential footballer on the planet was simply a bucket list stuff for Ole Gunner Solskjar. 

An emotional 4-1 win against Newcastle on Cristiano's return doesn't mean Manchester United are favourites for the Premier League but it definitely clears air on a lot of things and one of them is that this United team can now realistically challenge Manchester City and Chelsea for the Premier League.