Ronaldo: Absolutely perfect
Sir Alex Ferguson labelled Cristiano Ronaldo's performance against Everton 'absolutely perfect' after the winger secured Manchester United a 2-1 win.
Ronaldo put United ahead with a curling shot in the first half before converting an 88th minute penalty to make it nine Old Trafford league wins in a row.
The brace also took the Portuguese's tally to 16 for the season, and his display drew the plaudits from United boss Ferguson.
"I don't think he ever made a mistake - he was absolutely perfect, it was a marvellous performance from him," Ferguson told MUTV.
"The first goal was marvellous. The boy really has got everything and we're expecting goals from him all the time.
"The temperament and confidence he's always shown as a kid surfaces at times like that [when he stepped up to take the penalty]. He composed himself and took the spot-kick very well.
"Of course, others played their part and you could see what a great team spirit we have by the way we never stopped going. It's a very important result and it was a good team performance in the second half."
Though Ferguson was happy to start the Christmas period on a winning note, he was upset with Tim Cahill's headed equaliser for Everton.
He added: "I was very disappointed with their goal. We should have closed the cross down sooner. We spoke about Tim Cahill before the game because we know he has good ability in the air and he did us at the back post.
"It was very disappointing particularly after making such a great start with Cristiano's goal. It derailed us really until the second half.
"My experience of this team is never to give up on them because they've scored so many important goals late on. Time was running out, but thankfully we got the penalty.
"With Arsenal winning late on yesterday it was an important result for us to make sure we keep close to them. It starts the Christmas period off very well for us."

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 10th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Arsenal vs Liverpool |
| 19:45 | Aston Villa vs Man Utd |
| 19:45 | West Ham vs Birmingham |
| 19:45 | Wolverhampton vs Tottenham |
| 20:00 | Blackburn vs Hull |
| 20:00 | Everton vs Chelsea |
| Tuesday 16th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Stoke vs Man City |
| Wednesday 17th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Wigan vs Bolton |
| Saturday 20th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Everton vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Sunderland |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Wolverhampton vs Chelsea |
| 17:30 | Portsmouth vs Stoke |
| Sunday 21st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 14:00 | Aston Villa vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Liverpool |
| 16:15 | Wigan vs Tottenham |
| Monday 22nd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Blackburn vs Bolton |
| Tuesday 23rd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Man Utd vs West Ham |
| Saturday 27th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Chelsea vs Man City |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 9th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 0 Bolton | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Stoke | |
| Portsmouth 1 - 1 Sunderland | |
| Fulham 3 - 0 Burnley | |
| Sunday 7th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 2 - 1 Wolverhampton | |
| Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 1 - 0 Everton | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Man City | |
| Stoke 3 - 0 Blackburn | |
| Bolton 0 - 0 Fulham | |
| Sunderland 1 - 1 Wigan | |
| Man Utd 5 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Burnley 2 - 1 West Ham | |
| Tottenham 0 - 0 Aston Villa | |
| Wednesday 3rd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Tuesday 2nd February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 1 - 1 Chelsea | |
| Monday 1st February | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Sunderland 0 - 0 Stoke | |
| Sunday 31st January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Man City 2 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Arsenal 1 - 3 Man Utd | |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 1 - 1 Tottenham | |
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