It was a mea culpa from Cristiano Ronaldo. “This is on us, only on us, because there's no one else to blame,” he posted on Instagram after Manchester United’s 5-0 defeat to Liverpool. Perhaps he was more at fault than most for United’s loss of control. They had never amassed seven cards in a Premier League game before. Maybe the abiding image was not of Paul Pogba’s red card but of Ronaldo booting Curtis Jones, even though he escaped with a yellow.
He may be culpable in a broader sense, too, in the probable demise of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The most prolific goalscorer in footballing history and one of the select band to find the net for Manchester United in a Champions League final may finish off another. Ronaldo’s signing was the supposed coup that marked the beginning of the end for Solskjaer, unbalancing the squad, creating problems he has so far been unable to solve.
If Ronaldo was trying to exonerate Solskjaer on social media, he may have a particular incentive to do so. Antonio Conte is waiting in the wings, hoping for the United job. A confidant had messaged him even before United’s historic defeat to Liverpool, pointing out that Ronaldo represented a problem. Conte did not reply to that but those who know him are convinced a confrontational manager would drop the Portuguese. He does not work hard enough for the team. Ronaldo ranks joint 321st in the Premier League for successful pressures. To put it another way, he has played 483 minutes and has won the ball from fewer opponents than Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong, who has been on the pitch for 47.
Conserving his energy for scoring has proved a productive policy, but he is a passenger off the ball. It is a reason why United’s pressing game has been so haphazard and why they are so easy to play against.
Ronaldo's records
-
10 - Cristiano Ronaldo's treble against Luxembourg in 2022 World Cup qualifying on October 12, 2021 saw him become the first player to net 10 international hat-tricks. Getty Images -
111 - Cristiano Ronaldo's two last-gasp headers in a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland on September 1, 2021 made him the highest scoring player in international football, surpassing Ali Daei's previous mark of 109. Reuters -
11 - Cristiano Ronaldo's two goals in a 3-0 win over Hungary in their opening match of Euro 2020 saw him surpass Michel Platini's record of nine at the continental championship. EPA -
770 - Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick in Juventus' 3-1 win over Cagliari on Sunday, March 14 saw him surpass Pele's official record tally of goals for both club and country. AFP -
12 - Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in a 3-0 Serie A win over Spezia on March 2, 2021 saw the Portuguese striker become the first player to score 20 league goals in 12 consecutive seasons across Europe's top five league. AFP -
760 - Cristiano Ronaldo was hailed as the most prolific goalscorer in history on Wednesday after scoring his 760th senior goal to help Juventus beat Napoli 2-0 in the Italian Supercup final. AFP -
200 - Fastest Real Madrid player to reach 200 official goals. Reuters -
150 - Fastest La Liga player to score 150 league goals (140 matches). AP -
Cristiano Ronaldo is ranked by ESPN as the most famous sportsman in the world and is the most followed individual on both Facebook and Instagram.. AFP -
14 - Most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. AFP -
10 - First player to score in ten consecutive international tournaments (Portugal). AFP -
4 - Most UEFA Best Player in Europe Award and UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. AFP -
3 - First player to appear in three European Championship semi-finals: in 2004, 2012, and 2016. AFP -
5 - Most headed goals at European Championship finals tournaments. Getty Images -
Oldest player to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick: 34 years and 35 days. Reuters -
128 - Most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League. Reuters -
30 - Most goals scored in European World Cup Qualifiers. AFP -
34 - Most hat-tricks in La Liga for Real Madrid. Reuters -
100 - Youngest Portuguese player to reach 100 caps: 27 years, 8 months and 11 days. Reuters -
17 - Most matches played in World Cup finals for Portugal. AFP -
21 - Most matches played in European Championship finals for Portugal. Reuters -
7 - First player to score in seven consecutive away matches in a debut Serie A season. AFP -
12 - Most goals scored from direct free kicks in UEFA Champions League history. EPA -
3 - First player to appear in the FIFPro World11 for two and three clubs. Getty -
22 - Most goals scored in Madrid Derby matches. AFP -
40 - Most assists in the UEFA Champions League. Reuters -
6 - First player to score in six consecutive Clásicos. AFP -
2 - First player to score for two winning teams in the UEFA Champions League/European Cup: Manchester United (2007–08) and Real Madrid (2013–14). Getty Images -
41 - Most different national teams scored against. Reuters -
33 years, 310 days - Oldest player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup. Reuters -
1 - First footballer to have won the European Golden Shoe in different leagues: English Premier League (2007–08) and Spanish La Liga (2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15). Getty -
10 - Only player to score 10 goals against a single opponent (Juventus) in the UEFA Champions League. AFP -
6 - Only player to finish UEFA Champions League top scorer in six consecutive seasons: from 2012–13 to 2017–18. Reuters -
6 - Only player to score in all six group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League in a season. AFP -
11 - Most consecutive UEFA Champions League matches scored in. Getty Images -
61 - Most goals scored from penalty kicks in La Liga history. Getty Images -
311- Real Madrid's top goalscorer in La Liga. Getty Images -
56 - Most goals scored in UEFA Champions League knockout phase. AFP -
450 - Real Madrid all-time top goalscorer. AP Photo -
17 - Most goals scored in a UEFA Champions League/European Cup season (2013/14). Reuters -
9 - Most hat-tricks scored for the Portugal national team. AP Photo -
131 - Most goals scored in European competitions (club football). Reuters -
100 - First player to reach 100 career goals in the UEFA Champions League. Getty Images -
164 - Portugal's most capped player. Reuters -
2 - First player to score in consecutive FIFA Club World Cup Finals (2016, 2017). Christopher Pike / The National -
8 - Only player in the world who has scored in the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 editions of the European Championship; and in the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions of the World Cup -
99 - Europe's all-time top international goalscorer. Reuters -
171 - Most goals scored in all UEFA competitions. Reuters -
50 - Only player to score more than a half-century of goals in seven consecutive calendar years. Getty Images -
2- Only player to win the league title, domestic cup, domestic supercup, Champions League, Club World Cup, league player of the year, Golden Shoe and Ballon d'Or at two clubs (Manchester United and Real Madrid). Getty Images -
32- Most international goals in a calander year with Portugal (2017). AFP -
7 - Most goals in the history of the Fifa Club World Cup. AFP -
128 - Ronaldo is the UEFA Champions league all-time top goalscorer with 128 goals while Lionel Messi is second with 114 to his name. Getty Images -
11 - Most consecutive Serie A matches scored in. AFP -
50 - Ronaldo's two goals for Juventus against Lazio saw him become the fastest player to reach 50 goals in Serie A, doing so in 61 games. Reuters -
50 - With his brace against Lazio on Monday, Ronaldo became the first player to score 50 or more goals in Serie A, La Liga, and the Premier League. AFP
The issues are not merely defensive. Ronaldo’s stratospherically high profile means he can overshadow everyone else. He can be a lightning rod and Solskjaer has been damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. He was criticised for taking off the 36-year-old when United were down to 10 men against Young Boys of Bern, though Ronaldo’s lack of movement meant they were in effect playing with nine. Then came leaked footage of Alex Ferguson disagreeing with the Norwegian’s decision to rest him against Everton – “you should always start with your best players,” said a manager who did not always follow his own advice – and Ronaldo’s expressive body language at the final whistle highlighted his own dissatisfaction.
But when Ronaldo stayed on against Liverpool and Mason Greenwood, United’s brightest attacker in the first half, was substituted, the team felt less a meritocracy than a star vehicle. More than most, Greenwood has been displaced by Ronaldo. Before the Portuguese’s dramatic return, his goal-a-game start to the season suggested this would be the campaign the player Solskjaer has long described as the best finisher at Old Trafford would graduate into United’s first-choice No 9. Instead the future has been put on hold, with Greenwood shunted back to the flanks.
Then Jadon Sancho, targeted for two years by United to fill the vacancy on the right, has sometimes been on the left, and more often on the bench. Pogba began the season with a flurry of assists as an ersatz left winger, but the attempts to cram in extra attackers meant he was shunted into the centre of midfield, with disastrous consequences, at Leicester City and then benched against Liverpool. If Ronaldo has been a catalyst for United, it has been in creating problems Solskjaer may never solve.
Man United v Liverpool ratings
-
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 4 - Conceded now in 13 consecutive home games for United – not that he could do much about the five which past him. A chocolate fireguard would have offered more protection. Good save from Alexander Arnold after 70. EPA -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 3 - Left his man to try and retrieve the ball before Liverpool’s opener. Didn’t. And from there things got even worse. Booked – one of seven United players to get a card on a day of frustration. EPA -
Victor Lindelof 3 - Another in the wrong position for the opener for the most jittery start from United. Ball bounced off him before Liverpool’s third. Booed off at half time with the rest of his teammates by a support who otherwise sang until the end. No wonder several of the players apologised. EPA -
Harry Maguire 2 - Adrift as Liverpool cut United’s defence open from the start and tangled with Shaw for the second as Liverpool went 2-0 up after 13. Things got even worse and he’s having an awful time of it. Booked. Getty -
Luke Shaw 3 - Stranded for Liverpool’s opener. Shot wide from distance after 21, but, like the rest of the defenders, he was all over the place as a far superior Liverpool passed the ball around them. EPA -
Fred 3 - Lovely ball to Ronaldo after three minutes. And that was the highlight as his side were thrashed. Booked. Not even fair to compare him to someone as influential as Jordan Henderson today. Had little time on the ball against a side who never stopped hunting the ball down. EPA -
Scott McTominay 3 - Ran back to dispossess Salah after eight minutes. Does he really want to be reminded of anything after that as Liverpool completely dominated? Headed ball down to set up Cavani after 83. The game was so far gone, there was barely a reaction when the ball went in the net. EPA -
Bruno Fernandes 3 - Skied a third minute shot over. Wasted. Often frustrated, too often argumentative. Booked for this on an afternoon which became deeply embarrassing for the home team. AP -
Mason Greenwood 4 - Was up for it from the start, intercepting a Liverpool attack. Then they scored twice. Shot tested Alisson after 28, but what else can you say about a player on a side which was 4-0 down at half-time for the first time in 31 years? AP -
Marcus Rashford 3 - Lively start and got away from Kieta to shoot wide from 25 yards. But lost in the hideous muddle which developed and for which no words can make up. EPA -
Cristiano Ronaldo 3 - Another who skied a shot early on. Put the ball in the net after 53 with a superb shot, but it was offside. Booked. He’s hugely frustrated – and hugely influential. And that could be a blessing and a curse for United. AP -
SUBS: Paul Pogba 2 - On for Greenwood at HT. Dived in for a challenge with Keita on 58 and was sent off. He should have known far better. AP -
Edinson Cavani 3 - On for Fernandes after 61 as Liverpool fans sang ‘Ole’s at the wheel’ and ‘Ole give us a wave.’ It was that bad. A deflected shot hit the crossbar after 83. EPA -
Diogo Dalot 3 - On for Rashford after 61 as Liverpool fans chanted ‘Ole must stay’ while the speculation about United’s manager skyrocketed. AP -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson Becker 8 - The Brazilian foiled Greenwood and Ronaldo in the first half and was a model of composure. He distributed the ball with his usual aplomb. Getty -
Trent Alexander-Arnold 8 - The 22-year-old was supposed to be the target for Ronaldo and Rashford but was comfortable throughout. He ranged forward at will and supplied the cross for Jota’s goal. Getty -
Ibrahima Konate 8 - The Frenchman got sucked into midfield and went to ground early on but he soon found his feet. He was excellent in the air and strong on the ground. EPA -
Virgil van Dijk 8 - The Dutchman was completely at ease. He oozed class. It is hard to believe that Maguire was a more expensive signing. EPA -
Andrew Robertson 8 - The Scot’s passing was a little inconsistent but he worked the line well. He made himself available as an outlet ball and got better as the game went on. Getty -
Jordan Henderson 8 - The captain was efficient in possession and adapted nicely to the defensive midfield role. His pass for Salah’s hat-trick was splendid. Getty -
James Milner 7 - The 35-year-old limped off injured after 27 minutes but his workrate and appetite were illustrated when he was queuing at the back post behind Jota for a chance to score the second goal. Reuters -
Naby Keita 9 - This was the 26-year-old’s best game for the club. He scored, helped set up two goals and broke up United attacks. He was carried off in the 64th minute after a horrible challenge by Pogba. Getty -
Mohamed Salah 10 - The Egyptian’s pass for the opening goal was wonderful but what followed was exceptional. He tormented United and was rewarded with a hat-trick. AFP -
Roberto Firmino 8 - The Brazilian’s movement and intelligence bemused the defence. He helped create the fourth goal before being replaced by Mane in the 77th minute. EPA -
Diogo Jota 8 - The Portuguese caused havoc down the left. He scored the second goal and set up another for Salah. Getty -
SUBS: Curtis Jones 7 - The 20-year-old replaced Milner in the 27th minute and was given some rough treatment by Ronaldo and Fernandes but never let it affect his game. Getty -
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 - The 28-year-old joined the action in the 64th minute when Keita was injured. He was effective on and off the ball as Liverpool cruised towards the final whistle. AFP -
Sadio Mane 6 - The Senegalese was introduced for Firmino with 13 minutes left. He was desperate to score and was perhaps a little too greedy. Reuters
