The illness suffered by Cristiano Ronaldo, as acknowledged by coach Erik Ten Hag at a press conference, which caused him to miss the Carabao Cup match against Aston Villa, does not seem to be serious. The Portuguese will therefore be available for Sunday’s game against Fulham.
Rather than being good news, for United’s coach it is a problem. With the return of Anthony Martial, who scored against Villa, the Frenchman moves ahead of Ronaldo in Ten Hag’s pecking order.
The French striker’s mobility and better goalscoring figures put him in a better place than Cristiano who has just one Premier League goal to his name.
Putting Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench after his recent starts would be a problem to manage. Ronaldo has thrown several strops this season which have had a knock-on effect at Old Trafford and the Dutchman will have to consider how to handle the situation.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammates perform better without him
This is not an opinion, but based on data: when Cristiano Ronaldo is not on the pitch, Manchester United are quicker and more unpredictable for their opponents.
However, with the Portuguese in the line-up, everything is slower as he has a static position and the opposing defences know how to stop the Red Devils’ offence. Just look at the last game, with a stellar performance from the Manchester United attack, in which they put four past Villa.
Martial, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho: all of them are closer to their best when Ronaldo is not by their side, although it is true that it is not all Ronaldo’s fault, as those teammates who have also played at some point have not always been available, especially due to injuries.
However, there is another fact that doesn’t leave Ronaldo in a good place. The Portuguese has started 11 of Manchester United’s games, six of which have been in the Europa League, and United have scored 14 goals in those games, with Ronaldo scoring three of them. In the nine games he has not started, United have scored 18 goals. Now, the decision is up to Ten Hag and what to do with Cristiano.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Marca
