Cristiano Ronaldo was the only reason Manchester United defeated Tottenham according to Alan Shearer, who stated "God only knows" where the Red Devils would be without the Portugal superstar.
Ronaldo struck the 49th hat-trick of his sensational club career to help see off Antonio Conte's side 3-2 at Old Trafford, moving United into the Premier League's top four ahead of Arsenal's clash with Leicester City on Sunday.
With Harry Kane's penalty and a Harry Maguire own goal twice pegging United back in an absorbing contest, Ronaldo also became the first player to give United the lead three times within a single Premier League clash.
Writing for BBC Sport, Shearer – the Premier League's all-time leading goalscorer – was effusive in his praise for the 37-year-old, labelling his performance "staggering".
"There are some people who think Cristiano Ronaldo is a problem for Manchester United," wrote the Newcastle United great. "But God knows where they would be without him.
"I said a few weeks ago that, if it wasn't for Ronaldo, United would be far worse off than they are, and Saturday's game against Tottenham summed up why in a nutshell.
"He was quite simply the only reason they beat Spurs. His hat-trick was phenomenal and his overall performance was so good, it was staggering.
"This was some response to his critics and all three of his goals were special in their own way. His third goal was my favourite, though. Ronaldo had to get every part of it right, and he did.
"From the way he reads the flight of the cross to the way he attacks it and times his jump, then meets the ball with accuracy and power, it was all absolutely perfect. A textbook header."
Shearer was not, however, impressed with United's overall performance, claiming Ronaldo "got them over the line" after a "terrible" defensive display, and cannot be blamed for their below-par season.
"United have still got a heck of a lot of work to do to get a top-four finish from here, but if they do miss out then there is no way on earth you can pin the blame on Ronaldo," he added.
"They would not be in a position to challenge for the Champions League places if it wasn't for him, so I don't buy that as the reason their results have not always been good enough.
"Their big problem is defensively - they are terrible at times, and we saw that again against Tottenham despite the end result this time.
"Yes, United deserve some credit for the way they responded to what happened to them in the derby last weekend [a 4-1 loss at Manchester City] and this was a huge result for them, but they had no control of the game whatsoever and it was Ronaldo's brilliance that got them over the line."
Ronaldo, who has 12 Premier League goals this term, has now scored in each of his last seven appearances against Tottenham in all competitions, and has netted more career goals against Spurs than he has against any other English side (14).
