10 teams Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score against in 2021
Among the many astounding stories we witnessed in 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United was clearly the biggest. The attention and traction that his return to Old Trafford received on social media reminded us of the sensation he has become.
Even though he's 36 now, there's as much buzz around Cristiano Ronaldo due to his ability on the field as there is due to the heroics throughout his career. The Portuguese did not disappoint this year either and scored crucial goals in most outings.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a tough outing against various teams in 2021
In fact he scored a lot in Italy and continued in similar fashion on his return to England. In October, he scored against Atalanta in the Champions League, the 38th team Cristiano Ronaldo scored against in the competition. He also secured the Golden Boot award at Euro 2020 thanks to his five goals.
Despite all these moments when the Portuguese ran the show and topped the headlines, there were moments that proved he was human after all. There were games where the striker did not manage to find the back of the net.
There were teams who managed to neutralize Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021 and he could not score against them. Here are 10 teams that Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score against in 2021:
#10 Fiorentina
Fiorentina against Juventus has been and continues to be a thrilling encounter. Unfortunately, the team from Florence has not performed well in domestic cup competitions and have not faced Juventus in those knockout games. Hence, fans eagerly await their meetings in Serie A, which rarely disappoints.
In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo played his sixth game against Fiorentina in Serie A which was an away fixture on 25th April. In the past five meetings, the striker netted thrice against them and also provided one assist. On this occasion, however, Cristiano Ronaldo fell short of getting on the scoresheet.
In campo al Franchi ๐๐ป
#ForzaViola ๐ #Fiorentina
#FIOvUDI https://t.co/WzNSDksDP1
Fiorentina went ahead with a penalty which was converted by Dusan Vlahovic, a striker who is on the wishlist of many top European clubs. Juventus had a poor showing on the day as they missed to trouble the opposition goalkeeper. They salvaged a point through Alvaro Morato who scored in the 46th minute.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo's three goals against Fiorentina in Serie A came from the penalty spot.
#9 Lazio
Lazio continue their battle in the closely contested Italian top-flight this season to make it to the top-six spot to get into one of the European competitions. They finished sixth in the 2020-21 campaign in Serie A and given the track record Cristiano Ronaldo had against them, they must consider themselves lucky.
The Portuguese played on home turf as Lazio visited Andrea Pirlo's side in March 2021. The match ended 3-1 in favor of Juventus, who made a comeback despite conceding an early goal. But this was one of those rare occasions that Cristiano Ronaldo did not start a game for Juventus as he came on from the bench in the 69th minute.
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ FINAL
๐ Ciro Immobile ๐ Sergej Milinkovic ๐ https://t.co/rzyoEGWgJl
Alvaro Morata rose to the occasion and scored twice in the Portuguese's absence. But one would think in Cristiano Ronaldo's presence things could have gotten a lot worse for Lazio given his record against them. In his five previous Serie A meetings with the visitors, the Juventus star had scored five times and also registered an assist. However, he drew a blank on that particular day.
#8 Aston Villa
Cristiano Ronaldo did not disappoint on his return to the Premier League. Old Trafford was buzzing like never before and he graced the occasion with a brace against Newcastle United. The Portuguese striker continued his good form against West Ham and scored on his second appearance as well.
However, he failed to spread his charm for a third straight game as Manchester United lost by a narrow one-goal margin to visitors Aston Villa. This began a short, four-game barren spell for Cristiano Ronaldo in the Premier League, where he did not score or assist.
Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard will miss the club's next two Premier League games after testing positive for Covid-19
He came back strong after those games with a goal and an assist against Tottenham Hotspur. As far as the Villa game was concerned, it was settled by a late Kortney Hause goal in the 88th minute as the Red Devils lost 1-0. The home side, despite attempting 28 shots, did not have a single goal to show for it.
Manchester United were given a late penalty in the 93rd minute, but for some reason Cristiano Ronaldo did not take it. He watched as Bruno Fernandes skied his attempt way over the bar.