Cristiano Ronaldo Is In Decline And Hurting Manchester United

In the 88^th minute of Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday Cristiano Ronaldo conceded a free-kick with a foul on Ezri Konsa.

The Portuguese legend’s tackle was late and allowed Villa to waste more time as they attempted to secure their first home league win over United for 27 years.

Ronaldo threw back his shoulders and screamed to the sky in frustration. A minute later he was convinced United should have been awarded a corner and again let out a cry of anguish and this time he angrily flung his arms around as well.

Ronaldo’s frustration was obviously not only about these two decisions going against him, but about his own declining form.

At Villa Park he was once again a shadow of the player he was in his prime, but also a shadow of the player he was even last season as he delivered another largely anonymous performance.

Ronaldo has enjoyed an incredible career, and could arguably be considered the greatest player of all-time, but he turns 38 in February and is beginning to look his age.

He can no longer beat players with trickery or pace; he knows it and doesn’t even attempt to, but last season he could get by with his intelligence, positioning and clinical finishing, but this season that appears to have deserted him as well.

In the final years of his own glorious career the former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson said, “I beat every other guy, but I can’t beat Father Time.”

Ronaldo has evaded Father Time these last few years, continuing to score at an incredible rate, but that cannot continue forever.

Ronaldo has scored just one goal in the Premier League this season, and overall has a record of just three goals in 16 games in all competitions.

When Tyson began to accept he was no longer the same explosive boxer he was in his youth he also said, “I felt like I was 120 years old. It’s over. I don’t want to disgrace the sport I love.”

It is still a long way from being over for Ronaldo and he can still offer something to a multitude of teams, but possibly not as a starter in a team with aspirations of finishing in the Premier League’s top four.

Manchester United are struggling for goals this season, having scored just 18 in 13 Premier League games. In comparison the league leaders Arsenal have 31 league goals, and second-placed Manchester City have 39 league goals.

But Ronaldo is clearly not the solution to this problem, and his decline from last season when he managed 24 goals in all competitions is becoming increasingly stark.

In the first half of United’s loss at Villa Park Christen Eriksen lofted in a cross to present him with a chance he would have scored last season, but on this occasion he could only head the ball straight at the Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

In the second half Ronaldo had a chance in the Villa penalty area and fired it high over the bar to be serenaded by whistles from the opposition fans. A chance to recreate some of his old magic with a free-kick was also wasted as he hit it straight into the wall.

The Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag can quite clearly see Ronaldo’s decline for himself, and has opted to start most games in the Premier League without him.

However, with injuries to Antony and Jadon Sancho, and Anthony Martial only being fit enough for the bench he was forced to start him against Aston Villa.

Ronaldo also started against Real Sociedad on Thursday, and although United triumphed 1-0 with a goal he helped to create for Alejandro Garnacho, he was unable to find the second goal they needed to automatically reach next year’s Europa League round of sixteen. The effort was there but the quality was absent.

In a surprise move Ten Hag appointed Ronaldo as his captain for the game at Aston Villa with Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire both missing, which was only two weeks after dropping him after he had refused to play against Tottenham.

But Ronaldo was unable to offer any real leadership, or even play as an example, being too consumed with his own frustrations as he desperately searched for some form.

It would be foolish to completely dismiss Ronaldo’s use to this United squad, and he still has the ability to make an impact and find a goal, but overall he offers so much less now.

Ronaldo’s dwindling mobility and pace were apparent last season, but he compensated for that with a steady supply of goals, but they too have disappeared this season.