MANCHESTER, England (AP) -With a trademark free kick, Cristiano Ronaldo etched his name deeper into Manchester United folklore by becoming the club's latest goalscoring centurion on Saturday.
And to round off the 5-0 rout of Stoke, he registered his 101st goal with another dead ball.
"It's a great achievement, it's great to score 101 goals for this club," Ronaldo said. "I feel very proud, very good, very happy.
"This is the sixth season I've been with the club and I feel very proud to get 101 goals."
The winger took just three minutes to stun Stoke, swerving a blistering free kick from the left that completely beat goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to the awe of the Old Trafford crowd - very much like his first goal after joining from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, which came in a 3-0 win over Portsmouth.
On Saturday, Ronaldo left it until the 89th minute to curl another around a seven-man wall and past Sorensen. The intervening 86 minutes, though, witnessed the petulant side of Ronaldo amid growing frustration in front of goal and taunting by the visiting Stoke fans.
Neither goals nor modesty were in short supply from Ronaldo, who wasn't going to be upstaged by 17-year-old league debutant Danny Welbeck bending a fierce strike into the top right from 25 meters in the 84th for United's fourth.
"I'm very happy for him, he's a young boy, a new talent, and he scored a fantastic goal - (but) not better than mine," Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo missed the first month of the season while recovering from ankle surgery, but the greater struggle has been regaining the affection of United fans after seeing his dream move to Real Madrid vetoed by manager Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson bears no grudges and trumpeted Ronaldo's milestone.
"He's on fire now, he's back," Ferguson said. "His acceleration is marvelous and he has scored his first goals from free kicks this season. We have been waiting for that to happen. Today, we saw the real power of him.
"He's overcome his operation and he is getting quicker with every game. His fitness levels are fantastic. His speed has come back. He was taking his time, but every game he is getting better."
And chasing down last season's 42-goal tally.
"That is nine for the season now. I am sure he will be into double figures very soon," Ferguson said. "Overall, he has scored 101 times in 253 appearances, which is an unbelievable return for a winger."
There is a long way to go before the 23-year-old Portugal international can think about surpassing the 249 goals Bobby Charlton scored between 1956 and 1973 - especially with a move to Real Madrid not banished from his thoughts.
And now United's fans can prepare to laud striker Wayne Rooney, whose next goal will take him to a century.
