Under the Microscope: Ronaldo’s stats as Man United’s main centre-forward | OneFootball

Manchester United have had a recent slump in form. After losing three out of their last four games in the Premier League, they have now slipped out of the top four and are at sixth with 17 points from 11 games. They are already five points away from fourth-placed Liverpool. Most of their problems have been in defense, and star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has frequently come to their rescue in various games.

Ronaldo has scored nine goals in 12 appearances across all competitions for Man United since rejoining his former club in the summer. He has been preferred over Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood as the first choice number nine for the Red Devils by Ole-Gunnar Solksjaer.

In this post, we will look at the xG creation of various strikers in the league, and have a closer look at Ronaldo’s stats with his attacking dashboard, shot map and heat map for this season.

Ronaldo has the fifth-highest accumulated xG of 4.37 in the league and has scored four league goals. He has also scored five goals in other competitions for Man United. In terms of xG per 90 minutes, Edinson Cavani does have a better rate, but at the moment, Ronaldo is certainly the better and preferred choice as their main number nine.

The above viz shows the attacking dashboard for Ronaldo for this season in the Premier League. The back line in the viz depicts the average value in the particular stat for all players in the league. Ronaldo has produced better stats in all attacking departments than most players and strikers in the division. He has stopped dribbling much and has concentrated his game on his ability to score goals.

Ronaldo’s shot map for this season’s Premier League games shows that he is a huge presence inside the 18-yard box. He takes almost all his shots from inside the box, creating a good xG every game. He has scored four proper striker’s goals and has proven himself to be the best striker at Man United even at this age.

Ronaldo’s heat map shows that despite his age, he has been running and covering a lot of ground in various games. He obviously conserves energy and waits for the right moments to score goals and show his brilliance. He is a big add-on to this United team and can turn games on their head on his own.