Cristiano Ronaldo scores his second.

Remarkable Ronaldo speed stat

Monday 13 September 2021 09:26

We all know Cristiano Ronaldo is no ordinary 36-year-old, but an incredible statistic has emerged from Saturday's 4-1 win over Newcastle United.

The data produced by Opta showed only one player on the pitch recorded a faster top speed than the two-goal centre-forward, which proves he has not lost the pace that unsettles any defence in world football.

Ronaldo posted 34.20 km/h with only team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka marginally quicker (34.59 km/h) during the entertaining victory over the Magpies. Allan Saint-Maximin was the visitors' fastest player on the day.

Video
Watch Cristiano Ronaldo sprint onto Luke Shaw's pass to notch his second.

BBC's Match of the Day highlighted the acceleration of the striker when he latched onto Luke Shaw's through ball to slam his second goal past Freddie Woodman and it is likely that particular sprint was his speediest of the afternoon, displaying his incredible fitness at that stage of the game, particularly considering his pre-season was a little disjointed.

It is difficult to even appreciate how Ronaldo is also breaking records due to his age, because it does not seem a factor with the Portuguese superstar.

For instance, he is the eldest player to net twice in a top-flight game since Burnley's Graham Alexander 11 years ago and, for United, since Ryan Giggs in 2013. 

The BBC also reported he broke the record of the longest period between consecutive Premier League matches, previously held by Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney.

Expect more records to tumble as the season progresses, but it is Ronny's still-lightning speed that tells you all you need to know about his physical condition.

Nonetheless, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits he will have to carefully manage our no.7 to ensure he is always at his peak, with Tuesday's Champions League opener at Young Boys already swiftly on the horizon.

"The thing with Cristiano is he looks after himself so much that I know he’ll recover quickly," said the boss. "It’s important for us that we get everyone up and running to do that and to get him 90 minutes is good. There is a game on Tuesday and we’ll see what we do. It’s not impossible to leave him out. He’s 36 and Mason [Greenwood] is 19 – I have to manage his minutes in the same way I have to manage Cristiano’s minutes."

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