Ronaldo to become 24th Man United player to make 200 Premier League appearances

The Portuguese struck in the last minute of the 2-1 win over Villarreal on the night he made a record 178th outing in the Champions League.

He stole the spotlight from Lionel Messi, who lit up Tuesday night with a beautiful goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Manchester City.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has flourished since returning to the Red Devils for a second spell, joining from Juventus.

Ronaldo made a dream second debut, scoring a brace in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United at Old Trafford.

He also scored the opening goal in United's 2-1 victory against West Ham to be nominated for September's Premier League Player of the Month award.

Ronaldo has won the coveted individual prize on four occasions since first arriving at Old Trafford back in 2003.

The 36-year-old made the first of his soon-to-be 200 Premier League appearances in August of that year in a 4-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers.

But he had to wait until November for his first of his 87 top-flight goals in England which was a free-kick in a 3-0 win over Portsmouth.

Ronaldo will now join current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Paul Scholes as one of only 24 players to make 200 Premier League appearances for United.

The forward could never catch Ryan Giggs' 632 outings but a number of his other former teammates including Darren Fletcher are within reach.