CRISTIANO RONALDO picked up a bizarre yellow card this afternoon as Manchester United drew a blank against Newcastle United.
The Portuguese forward was handed his first Prem start since August as the Red Devils looked to keep up their top four chase.
Fresh from scoring his 700th club career goal from the bench last weekend, Ronaldo was intent on making it 701.
The 37-year-old was frustrated by the stubborn Toon, however, being starved of service as United laboured.
As Nick Pope stood over a free-kick outside Newcastle’s box, Ronaldo bizarrely stole the ball, skipping past the confused Magpies goalkeeper and firing the ball into the net.
Amid the confusion, baffled Toon players appealed to referee Craig Pawson.
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The goal wasn’t awarded – Pawson looking distinctly unimpressed by Ronaldo’s cheeky attempt.
CR7 even picked up a yellow card for his efforts, deemed to have wasted time.
As boss Erik ten Hag chased a late winner he opted to take off Ronaldo in order to bring on Marcus Rashford.
The former Real Madrid man reacted angrily to being hooked – shaking his head and muttering to himself as he left the pitch.
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He was still furiously shaking his head as he sat down, before gobbing a mouthful of water onto the ground.
Ronaldo’s replacement missed a sitter late on, heading a golden 95th minute cross inches wide.
The result leaves United fifth on 16 points – three points behind Chelsea in fourth.
Despite the Red Devils being 11 points behind Arsenal and seven off Tottenham, club legend Paul Scholes reckons they are the second best team in the league, behind Man City.
Appearing on BT Sport, he said: “After those first two games, I was really concerned that they wouldn’t finish in the top six.
“But the way they’ve fought back, winning five of their last six games, they’ve given themselves a great chance. They do look like they could be the best of the rest.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk