Manchester United travel to Aston Villa on Sunday for the first time since Cristiano Ronaldo’s last game for the club.
The Portuguese superstar, who had been passed over by Erik ten Hag just weeks before, was asked to lead the Red Devils as captain in the absence of a suspended Bruno Fernandes.
Ronaldo delivered a characteristically petulant performance, which had become a hallmark of his second spell with the club, as they were defeated 3-1 by Villa in Unai Emery’s debut game in charge in November 2022.
Since then, the Portuguese superstar has recovered his scoring touch, finishing 2023 as the top scorer in the calendar year, with 44 goals for new club Al-Nassr and another 10 for his country. He also led the world’s highest-paid footballer list last year, earning an estimated £214 million.
United, meanwhile, thrived for the rest of the season following Ronaldo’s departure, but have slipped this season. As it stands, they are no better off than when he left the club.
When Ronaldo departed the club, the reaction to Ten Hag’s handling of the situation was overwhelmingly positive, as he demonstrated that it didn’t matter who you were, the Dutchman ran the show.
Man United’s Premier League record prior to and following Ronaldo’s departure
Ronaldo’s second stint
After his departure, results on the field improved. The club was sixth after a 3-1 loss to Villa on November 22, and finished third, 14 points behind champions Manchester City.
They also won the Carabao Cup and advanced to the FA Cup final, when local rivals City won the trophy on their way to matching United’s 1999 treble.
However, much as with Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there has been a downturn at Old Trafford after an initial improvement under a new manager.
The Red Devils sit sixth in the standings, eight points behind Sunday’s opponents Villa and 13 points behind league leaders Liverpool with 15 games remaining.
They have already lost as many games this season as last (nine), with 14 defeats in all competitions, four of which came in the Champions League, when they finished last in a group that included Bayern Munich, Copenhagen, and Galatasaray.
Injuries have undoubtedly played a significant role. However, other players have witnessed a drop-off in form; some have fallen out of favor with Ten Hag, while other teams have caught up.Mason Mount has struggled since his £60 million signing, owing primarily to injury, but Rasmus Solskjaeris beginning to show his potential after scoring his first Premier League goal on Boxing Day in a 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa.
Youngsters like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho show promise for the future, but worries remain about Marcus Rashford and Anthony, who have struggled this season.
Rashford scored 30 goals in 56 games last year, but has only five in 28 appearances this season.
Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez have both struggled with injury, while Raphael Varane appears to be on his way out, with Harry Maguire and
United’s Premier League victory % has improved since Ronaldo’s departure. They won 50 percent of their 40 league games with Ronaldo and 58 percent of their 48 games following his departure.
However, those figures include the 2021-22 season, when Ronaldo was perhaps the lone bright spot in one of their worst Premier League campaigns, under Solskjaer and then temporary coach Ralf Rangnick.
Since Ronaldo, Ten Hag has dropped a number of other players.
The most well-known example is Jadon Sancho, who publicly challenged Ten Hag’s accusations that his training performances were subpar and was therefore dropped from the squad and loaned back to Borussia Dortmund.
Ten Hag pulled Rashford from the starting lineup against Wolves last season owing to his punctuality. Though he started the England forward in the 4-3 triumph over the same team.
