Blanking against Burnley meant that Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored in his last 5 domestic appearances, a drought that he has not experienced at club level since 2010.
Seemingly left frustrated by the new system, and not delivering the goals his signature seemed to promise and, indeed, deliver in the first months of his move, questions are being asked about his future already, especially if Manchester United fail to make the Champions League stage for next season.
As rumours swirl, Ronaldo’s form continues to show few signs of improvement under Ralf Rangnick, nor does Manchester United’s as a whole.
Cristiano Ronaldo has become disillusioned with life at Man Utd and is plotting showdown talks with his agent over his future, according to newspaper reports 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KuOG8UQOUR
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 11, 2022
Who is to blame?
But, the malaise is not the fault of Ronaldo, according to former Wales boss Dean Saunders.
Saunders, who represented Liverpool and Aston Villa in his playing days, before going on to manage a series of sides in the Football League, points the finger firmly at the back four and midfield, who he claims are some of the worst that the Portuguese star has ever played with.
‘If you asked Ronaldo, ‘Who’s the worst midfield players you’ve ever played with in your career?’ Fred and [Scott] McTominay won’t be far off’, he told Squawka.
‘People are starting to point the finger at Ronaldo, but he’s playing with a few dummies, some of them are not on the same wavelength as him.’
After singling out the midfielders, he went on to slam the defence too, saying:
‘They’ve got a bang-average back four and no engine room in the middle of the pitch, the players they’ve got in there are not up to the standard.’
Of course, should Ronaldo begin to find the net again, the script will be ripped up, and the United woes will be forgotten.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 24 | 43 | 60 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 23 | 41 | 51 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 24 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 24 | 11 | 40 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 22 | 9 | 39 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 23 | 6 | 39 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 1 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 2 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| 10 | Southampton FC | 23 | -7 | 28 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 22 | -4 | 27 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 21 | -5 | 26 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 23 | -3 | 25 |
| 14 | Brentford FC | 24 | -14 | 23 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 22 | -16 | 23 |
| 16 | Everton FC | 21 | -13 | 19 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 22 | -20 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich City | 23 | -32 | 17 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 22 | -18 | 15 |
| 20 | Burnley FC | 20 | -11 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 9 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 8 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 8 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 7 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 7 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 7 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 7 |
| Silva, Bernardo | Manchester City | 7 |
| Ward Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 6 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 8 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 6 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 6 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 6 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
| Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 6 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 1 | 5 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 6 |
| Llorente, Diego | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa | 0 | 6 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 6 |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 9 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 8 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 5 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Redmond, Nathan | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 4 |
| Ward Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 4 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 4 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
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