On this day in 2006, Ronaldo scored 2000th Man Utd goal under Alex Ferguson

On December 23, 2006, Manchester United scored their 2000th goal under the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, as Cristiano Ronaldo led the way in the 3-0 trouncing of Aston Villa.

United were on top of the Premier League table coming into the game, two points ahead of second-placed Chelsea, who were managed back then by Jose Mourinho. 

And the Portuguese, known to be an instigator of mind games, had tried their best to make sure the Red Devils felt the pressure going into the game, having proclaimed that there was no way United would be at the top of the table when the Christmas of 2006 came.

Sir Alex, unruffled by everything around him and his team, decided to drop Wayne Rooney in favour of Louis Saha for the game, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji-Sung occupying the wings in a 4-3-3 setup. 

The win secured United’s place at the top of the table at Christmas and they went on to win the Premier League title – their 16th one, beating Mourinho and his Chelsea side.