Ronaldo: A boon or bane for Man United?

Published

3 years ago

October 17, 2021

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Manchester United’s summer transfer window activities made their fans quite excited about the new Premier League season.

They had secured big-money signings in the forms of Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.

But, the most remarkable signing they made was undoubtedly the one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s.

The Portuguese superstar’s sensational return to Old Trafford after 12 years eclipsed the news of Lionel Messi joining Paris Saint-Germain to become the most hyped transfer of the season.

Coming on the back of a 28-goal Serie A season, Ronaldo seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle in Manchester United’s frontline.

Has Ronaldo improved the side?

Analysing Manchester United’s performances in their first eight Premier League outings, we tried to identify whether or not Ronaldo’s inclusion has been an upgrade for the Red Devils attack.

Manchester United, who had finished runner-ups behind Manchester City last season, have had a shaky start to their campaign once again.

As of writing, they occupy 5th place on the table with 14 points after suffering a 4-2 defeat at Leicester.

In Europe, they lost their first Champion’s League group match against Swiss outfit BSC Young Boys and followed up with a scrappy 2-1 win over Villarreal.

Continues to score

On paper, Ronaldo has had a more-than-decent start to his second stint at United.

He has returned five goals in seven outings across all competitions.

Since he has been so prolific, is it not obvious that the 36-year-old has made Manchester United as an attacking unit?

Unfortunately, it is not that simple.

By all odds, goals are important in football.

After all, it is the goal count that determines the winner and loser of a football game.

So, you cannot undermine a player who has been scoring goals for a team regularly.

That said, you cannot afford to disregard the effect that particular player has on the structural integrity of the team.

Ronaldo’s effect on the team

To be more precise, it should be taken into consideration how the player impacts the likelihood of the team scoring.

Is he holding back others from scoring or making them more involved in the attack?

Ronaldo is a player who prefers to have a lot of possession.

He loves to explore the left channel, United’s preferred ball progression zone, and move centrally holding the ball.

This is a proposition that is new to the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United system.

Solskjaer did not have a centre-forward before who had similar attributes.

Therefore, the Norwegian is yet to figure out how to incorporate Ronaldo properly into his attacking philosophy.

Manchester United’s attacking sequence data suggests while Ronaldo has been excellent at creating shooting opportunities for himself, his chance creation and build-up involvement has been lacklustre.

Manchester United Attacking Sequence Data 21/22 Season

Player	Involvement In Shot Assists	Involvement In Buildup to Shot	Involvement In Shots
Bruno Fernandes	6	23	5
Paul Pogba	3	20	5
Luke Shaw	4	18	1
Fred	2	21	0
Aaron Wan-Bissaka	3	19	0
Mason Greenwood	4	13	1
Cristiano Ronaldo	1	7	7

In Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United have a striker who thrives with high possession.

His attacking qualities will be quite rewarding for a team that can deploy him in a setup that revolves around him.

As of now, Manchester United’s attacking setup is not suited to exploit the five-time Balon d’Or winner’s attacking prowess.

Sooner or later, a compromise has to be reached for Ronaldo and United to function more efficiently.

‘They have to be favourites’ – Liverpool ‘perfect’ in Champions League

Published

2 days ago

December 11, 2024

Maadhav

Liverpool’s impeccable start to the season has made them strong contenders for the Champions League. After securing a place in the knockout rounds with a win over Girona, they’ve maintained a perfect European record.

Rio Ferdinand praised their momentum, highlighting their position as favorites based on form, though he cautioned that freshness, particularly for key players like Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, will be crucial. Stephen Warnock echoed this sentiment, noting that Liverpool is a formidable opponent in both the Premier League and Champions League.

FOOTBALL

WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

FOOTBALL

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

9 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”