Why Ronaldo's had an 'incredible' season

Tuesday 26 April 2022 12:00

Cristiano Ronaldo's remarkable goalscoring prowess was among the talking points in our latest episode of ‘The Debate’, the weekly MUTV show which is available to watch below.

In the latest show, host Stewart Gardner sits down with former United players Ben Thornley and David May and a journalist, The Sun's Neil Custis, to discuss the appointment of Erik ten Hag, recent results and the European situation.

But first and foremost on the topics list is Ronaldo, who netted his 100th Premier League goal for United during Saturday’s otherwise disappointing 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.

Gardner points out that, even in what has been a largely difficult campaign, Cristiano's numbers since he rejoined the Reds are hugely impressive. This is especially true when you compare his exploits in 2021/22 to the final season of his first spell at the club, 2008/09, prior to him leaving for Real Madrid.

Will Ronaldo reach 25 goals this season? Video

Will Ronaldo reach 25 goals this season?

The Debate | Our panel dissects Arsenal away, explores Ronaldo's influence and assesses Erik ten Hag's to-do list...

“If you think in his final season of 08/09, he scored 26 goals in a United team that were world and European champions,” Gardner said.

“Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez: They were brilliant. Now they [the team] are obviously not and he’s still got 22 goals. It’s just incredible, isn’t it?”

The commentator's matchday sidekick, Thornley, agreed and contemplated where United might be in the Premier League table had we not brought Cristiano back to the club in August.

“Without him and the form of David De Gea, and the form of Fred since the turn of the year, I’m not sure where we’d be in this table,” added Ben.

“My prediction when he [Ronaldo] arrived, even at the age of 37, was 25 [goals]. I think he might still do that and what a phenomenal tally that would be for someone of his age.”

A deeper look at the stats highlight that, having found the net 22 times, CR7 is currently having his fourth-best season for goals across all competitions in a United shirt, behind 2006/07 (23), 2007/08 (42) and 2008/09 (26).

With four games left to play, the phenomenal tally of that 07/08 term is well out of reach, but 06/07 and 08/09 could still be surpassed.

ユナイテッド
How many goals do you think Cristiano will end up with, once the season is complete?poll

How many goals do you think Cristiano will end up with, once the season is complete?

This is despite Ronaldo now playing in a side that unfortunately won't be challenging for the major trophies this May. By contrast, in 2007, the Reds won the Premier League and made it to the Champions League semi-finals.

Two years later, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side completed a hat-trick of titles and added a League Cup before falling just short in the 2009 Champions League final and FA Cup semi-final.

Cristiano’s 2021/22 output stacks up even more favourably when you subtract penalties from his tally, as only two of his 22 have come from the spot.

That means he has already scored more non-penalty goals (20) this season than he did in 2006/07 (18) and 2008/09 (19).

While Ronaldo at 37 may be a different player to the one we witnessed in the imperial phase of his 20s, Custis is enjoying watching him perform while he’s still around.

All 24 of Ronaldo's goals this season Video

All 24 of Ronaldo's goals this season

In reverse order, watch every CR7 goal from the 2021/22 campaign...

“When he was coming back, I showed my son YouTube videos of Ronaldo and said ‘this is why there’s so much excitement today’.

“Even I’d forgotten how wonderful and brilliant he was.

“The atmosphere that day when he came back [against Newcastle] is unlike any I’ve experienced here since probably the 2008 semi-final against Barcelona.

“To witness what he still does even now – like the hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur – is still absolutely fabulous.”

Who assisted Ronaldo's 100 goals?

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See who has provided the most for Cristiano during his time in the Premier League.

RONALDO'S GOALS BY SEASON

03/04 = 6
04/05 = 9
05/06 = 12
06/07 = 23
07/08 = 42
08/09 = 26
21/22 = 22*

NON-PENALTY GOALS

03/04 = 6
04/05 = 9
05/06 = 11
06/07 = 18
07/08 = 36
08/09 = 19
21/22 = 20*

*Totals so far

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