Cristiano Ronaldo’s performances for Portugal in the Nations League this week will have done little or nothing to convince Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag that he is ready to lead the line for his club.
The 37-year-old followed up Saturday’s miserable performance against the Czech Republic, in which he failed to register a shot on goal despite his team’s 4-0 win, with another unsuccessful performance against Spain in Braga last night.
Portugal lost the match 1-0 but could and should have won it as many of their attacks were broken due to Ronaldo’s mistakes.
The Madeira man managed to hit both of his shots on goal this time, but could have done better with both. He also squandered another great opportunity and on two occasions failed to control the ball when he came through the goal in fantastic goal-scoring positions.
He also failed to register an accurate cross during the game and only won one of his three aerial duels.
Ronaldo lost possession nine times during the match, to add to the seven times against the Czech Republic.
A SofaScore rating in both games of 6.7 made him the second worst player on his team in both games.
source: sofascore.com
Whether the legend is experiencing a slump in form or if it’s the beginning of the end, only time will tell. But after Portugal coach Fernando Santos had 90 minutes on both occasions, match fitness can now be ruled out as a reason for his decline in performance.
Despite enjoying just 32% of possession against their neighbors last night, Portugal looked much better, but their counter-attacking tactics required pace and clinical finishing up front that Ronaldo was unable to provide.
Santos’ persistence in playing him could prove to be a problem for the Iberians in the World Cup despite having one of the strongest teams including players like Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota and Joao Félix.
Portugal’s struggles to build their game around the aging star will not be lost on Erik ten Hag and will serve to reassure him that he has done the right thing by restricting him to substitute appearances for most of the season so far.
With Marcus Rashford in Sunday’s Manchester derby and Anthony Martial still out of contention, it could be a choice for Ronaldo or a false nine for Ten Hag. In these international functions, the false nine could be the best option.
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