Cristiano Ronaldo's 50th club career hat-trick dug Manchester United out of a hole against lowly Norwich City as the under-par Red Devils won 3-2 at Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old's treble was his second in his past three Premier League appearances and took him to 21 goals for the season, going through the 20 barrier for a 16th consecutive campaign.
Ronaldo moved to 99 Premier League goals in his career, and United could only thank him for sparing them a potentially embarrassing afternoon.
He put United two up early on, but Norwich hit back through Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki, only for former Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo to lash a free-kick winner through the grasp of Tim Krul in the 76th minute.
David de Gea sprinted from his line to expertly block Pukki's attempted dink over the goalkeeper in the third minute, and Norwich would soon regret failing to take that golden chance
Ronaldo saw a fizzing 20-yard shot saved by Krul in the seventh minute, but seconds later the United man did better, with Anthony Elanga dispossessing Ben Gibson in the penalty area and squaring for an easy close-range finish.
United kept pressing against opponents who at that point appeared ripe to be picked off, and Ronaldo got their second in the 32nd minute when he headed a corner from the right by Alex Telles past Krul.
Norwich surprisingly got one back in first-half stoppage time when Pukki's cross from the left was nodded in at the far post by an unmarked Dowell.
Incredibly, having been outplayed for so long, Norwich got level after 52 minutes when Pukki tucked past De Gea after Dowell played him in and the striker stayed just onside.
United lacked coherence in attack and were out of sorts throughout, with De Gea having to save well from Milot Rashica to keep the hosts on level terms, but then up stepped Ronaldo from 25 yards to save the day.
Arne Slot confirms he is taking charge at Liverpool
Arne Slot has confirmed he is taking over at Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp will manage his final game at Anfield on Sunday, when the Reds host Wolves.
Liverpool have not yet officially confirmed the German's replacement, but as expected, it will be Slot.
The Feyenoord coach confirmed in a press conference on Friday that he will be joining Liverpool.
"I can confirm that I will become the coach there next year," Slot said.
The Reds are certain to finish third in the Premier League this season, with the EFL Cup – achieved with a victory over Chelsea on penalties – their lone silverware in 2023-24 despite a commendable push for title glory, with Manchester City and Arsenal pulling clear in the closing stages of the campaign.
Liverpool also had hopes of success in the Europa League and FA Cup before losing in the quarter-finals in both competitions to Atalanta and Manchester United respectively.
Feyenoord confirmed Slot's departure, posting a video on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: "The Arne Slot era is coming to an end. Let's enjoy the last moments."
Slot's final game will see Feyenoord take on local rivals Excelsior. His team are second to PSV in the Eredivisie but they are ending the season in sensational form.
They have five straight league wins going into Sunday's last match and are on a 19-match unbeaten top-flight run, with their last defeat coming against champions PSV on December 3.
Sunday's match will be Slot's 150th in charge of Feyenoord in all competitions. He has won 97 (65.1 per cent) of his 149 games so far.
Van Persie lands first head coach role with Heerenveen
Robin van Persie has landed his first head coach role after being appointed the new boss of Eredivisie team Heerenveen.
Van Persie has agreed a two-year contract that will start at the end of the 2023-24 season, with the Dutch club confirming the deal on Friday.
Heerenveen missed out on European qualification this season and can finish no higher than 10th when the top-flight campaign concludes this weekend.
The club said in their statement they were convinced by the ambition and motivational skills of Van Persie, who starred for Arsenal and Manchester United in his playing career, winning the Premier League Golden Boot with both clubs, and the league title at Old Trafford.
That was as well as earning 102 caps and scoring a record 50 goals for the Netherlands at international level.
Van Persie said: "The coaching profession is comprehensive and challenging, and I've practised it with great passion and pleasure.
"I would like to continue my development and the role of head coach fits in perfectly with that goal. I am therefore pleased with the opportunity that Heerenveen offers me.
"Heerenveen is a very nice club with a rich tradition and loyal supporters.
"It is a fantastic challenge to contribute to the sporting ambitions and development of the club."
While this is the 40-year-old’s first senior coaching role, he has been working under Liverpool-bound Arne Slot as a youth coach with Feyenoord.
He succeeds Kees van Wonderen – who announced his impending departure in March ahead of the expiry of his contract – at Heerenveen.
The club will finish their league campaign away against Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday.
"Although Robin is at the start of his career as head coach, he immediately convinced us," said general manager Ferry de Haan.
"He is ambitious, passionate and eager to learn. I think he knows how to enthuse and motivate a squad of players."
Van Persie retired in 2019 and had two spells with Feyenoord at either end of his career, as well as a period playing in Turkey for Fenerbahce.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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