Cristiano Ronaldo’s effect on Manchester United’s performances this season has been a matter of debate among fans and pundits this season.
The legendary goalscorer caused disruption earlier this week by storming off during his team’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo’s frustrations over his lack of playing time seemed to be the cause of his outburst, an outburst that has not helped his chances of playing regularly with Erik ten Hag.
Before the incident, pundits like Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand had jumped to their former teammate’s defence, insisting that Ten Hag should be playing him.
But the statistics certainly seem to support the coach’s decision.
It seems that Manchester United, as a whole, play much better without Cristiano Ronaldo than with him.
The following chart from The Times puts this into sharp focus:
The point difference (2.3 without versus 0.5 with) shows that United enjoy more success with the likes of Marcus Rashford up front.
But digging deeper, we begin to see why that might be the case.
The team in general runs 10 km more per game without Ronaldo in the side. That alone could be cancelled, but its effects are clear.
As the eye test backs up, United are a better pressing unit when they don’t have a 37-year-old centre-forward (horror).
They win possession more often, all over the field.
Winning possession in the attacking third five times a game is a decent return, but it is halved by Ronaldo’s presence on the pitch.
In times past, Ronaldo might point to his return of goal as justification for inclusion, even if it meant his lack of defensive performance was a burden on his teammates.
Goalless in the Premier League this season, that’s hard to do.
But with zero goals scored by Manchester United while Ronaldo has been on the pitch this season, it’s not just difficult, it’s impossible. 
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