Alarming Cristiano Ronaldo stat from Wolves defeat surfaces to highlight Manchester United talisman’s woeful display
Manchester United's terrible performance in their 1-0 loss against Wolves was summed up by Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's forgettable display.
According to Squawka Football, Ronaldo had just three touches in the opposition's box against Wolves during the game. To put that into perspective, Wolves captain and centre-back Conor Coady had the same number of touches in Manchester United's box.
The stat will come as a huge shock to Manchester United fans and the football community in general. Many followers expect Cristiano Ronaldo to have more touches than most other players in and around the opposition box.
But the Portuguese superstar was almost completely nullified throughout the game. His best moment was a disallowed header in the 68th minute when the scores were still level.
Conor Coady had as many touches in the opposition box as Cristiano Ronaldo this evening (3). 🤯 https://t.co/WS8fxnwK04
Manchester United would go on to lose the game, courtesy of Joao Moutinho's fantastic strike in the 82nd minute. The loss meant Manchester United are still seventh in the league, four points behind Arsenal in fourth, with a game in hand on the Gunners.
Cristiano Ronaldo's impact is slowly waning under Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has yet to figure out how to use Cristiano Ronaldo to the best of his abilities. The Portuguese superstar barely got involved in the loss against Wolves, which has been a growing trend since Rangnick took over at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a respectable eight goals from 16 Premier League games this season. However, his influence in games is not as heavy as it was during the first half of the campaign. Rangnick is yet to find a balance in this Manchester United team and that has been reflected in the Red Devils' results under the German.
The club have only managed to score more than one goal on one occasion during Rangnick's reign, which came in the 3-1 win against Burnley last week. Apart from that, the Red Devils' only other win under Rangnick was against Norwich City by a 1-0 scoreline.
Coming into the match against Wolves, Manchester United had managed just two wins from their last four games. The other two results were poor draws against Newcastle United in the league and Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League. They have now added a loss to that record after falling to Bruno Lage's side.
These have not been the results expected by the club or its supporters since Rangnick's arrival. The Red Devils will need to turn things around quickly if they are to challenge for the top four and qualify for European football next season.
Manchester United had two shots on target against Wolves 😬 https://t.co/QH95cW3qIQ