Man Utd flying without Ronaldo at Premier League table
Man Utd earned 23 points in 10 games since the last time they had forward Cristiano Ronaldo in their lineup, which is the best record in the Premier League during the same period.
Ronaldo played his last game for Man Utd in a 1-3 loss against Aston Villa in the 15th round of the Premier League on November 6th, 2022. With Bruno Fernandes suspended, the 38-year-old forward wore the captain’s armband and played the full 90 minutes, but he did not score or assist. The loss caused Man Utd to drop to fifth place.
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That was also Ronaldo’s last game at Old Trafford. Since then, Man Utd has earned 23 points over 10 games in the Premier League. Under the guidance of Erik ten Hag, the team won seven games, including against Manchester City, drew two, and lost only to Arsenal. The “Red Devils” scored 20 goals during this period, an average of two goals per game, and conceded nine times. Marcus Rashford was the biggest contributor with nine goals.
This impressive run of results helped Man Utd rise to third place with 46 points, two points behind Man City and five points behind Arsenal. However, Ten Hag’s team has played one and two more games than these two clubs, respectively.
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Since Ronaldo’s last game in the Premier League, Brentford achieved the second-best record with 18 points from eight games. The “Bees” maintained an unbeaten record with five wins and three draws. Arsenal came in third with five wins, two draws, and one loss. Their 17 points in this period kept Mikel Arteta’s team at the top of the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Man City earned 16 points from five wins, one draw, and three losses. Liverpool’s record was four wins, one draw, and three losses, while Tottenham gained 13 points from four wins, one draw, and four losses. Despite their heavy spending in the transfer window, Chelsea only managed two wins, four draws, and three losses in nine games.
Ronaldo returned to Man Utd in the summer of 2021 for a transfer fee of $18 million and a two-year contract. The Portuguese striker was a rare bright spot in the team in the 2021-2022 season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions, including 18 in the Premier League and 6 in the Champions League.
But this season, Ronaldo lost his starting position and only scored three goals, including one in the Premier League and two in the Europa League. Besides, Man Utd has a new striker – Antony or young Cristiano Ronaldo. After that, he publicly criticized Ten Hag and Man Utd during a 90-minute conversation on the Piers Morgan Uncensored show. Over a week later, Old Trafford decided to terminate CR7’s contract six months early.
In early 2023, Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in the Saudi Arabian league on a contract that runs until June 2025, with a salary of $75 million, ending his 20-year career in Europe. He scored five goals in four matches, including one in a 2-2 draw with Al Fateh and a poker (four goals in one game) in a 4-0 victory over Al Wehda.
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