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MANCHESTER. — Manchester United may not have won their first game since banishing Cristiano Ronaldo from the squad but Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea seemed to confirm the belief they are better off without the individualistic superstar.
Although they needed a 94th-minute strike from Casemiro to rescue a point, United were dominant for large parts of the game and looked far more cohesive without the five-times world player of the year.
Ronaldo, who has been ordered to train alone by coach Erik ten Hag since leaving the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur early, has only started two English Premier League games this term, the 4-0 thrashing by Brentford and the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
In United’s most impressive victories of the season against Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, the 37-year-old played a grand total of 36 minutes.
His only decisive moment came when he scored the winning goal in the 2-1 win at Everton after Ten Hag was forced to turn to him when Anthony Martial came off injured.
It was his 700th goal in club football and the type of clinical finish few of his team mates are capable of.
Ronaldo’s moments of brilliance, however, are getting ever rarer. Even in the Europa League, where he has started all four matches against mediocre opponents such as Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia Nicosia, he has only scored once, and that was a penalty.
Ronaldo was United’s top scorer last season with 18 of the team’s 57 English Premier League goals after returning to Old Trafford amid huge fanfare, 12 years after his trophy-laden spell with the club.
However, they also suffered a series of humiliating defeats such as losing 5-0 at home to Liverpool and 4-1 to Watford and finished sixth in the Premier League. In the season before he arrived, they finished second and scored 73 goals.
Ten Hag’s predecessors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick did not have the authority to leave Ronaldo out of the team frequently but the Dutchman has been ruthless with him and United must now decide what to do with their famous forward.
They received no serous bids for him in the summer and although offers could arrive in January, the best way to ensure he leaves is to rescind his contract, which would cost the club around 10 million pounds, according to media reports. — AFP
Online Reporter