Cristiano Ronaldo faces Tottenham looking to recapture last season’s magic

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Cristiano Ronaldo hoped he had turned a corner after scoring a winner for Manchester United against Everton a week ago.

Erik ten Hag kept faith, giving Ronaldo a starting role in matches at Old Trafford against Omonia and Newcastle.

The Old Trafford wait for a ‘Siuuu’ goes on, with Ronaldo drawing a blank in both matches, and Manchester United have struggled, netting only one goal.

United’s players have done their best to feed Ronaldo, but the team’s attack is not functioning well with him leading the line.

The best chance created against Newcastle was for Marcus Rashford, which he missed, but at least the number 10 was in position to attempt to convert the chance. Ronaldo likely would not have been.

It’s unclear whether Ronaldo has done enough to retain his place in the starting line-up. Rashford may have been rested with an eye on this upcoming midweek fixture.

If Ronaldo is presented with an opportunity to start this week, he will be pleased by the the sight of upcoming opponents Tottenham.

Ronaldo looking to recapture last season’s magic

Ronaldo will be looking to recapture last season’s magic against Tottenham, a team he dominated home and away.

In the 3-0 away win at Tottenham, Ronaldo scored one, assisted another, and had another goal disallowed.

The home fixture was his season highlight, smashing in a hat-trick in an entertaining 3-2 victory at Old Trafford.

These four goals in two games were among his best performances of the season in which he scored 24 goals in all competitions.

This season he has scored only twice, and could do with another home hat-trick to elevate his figures and the team’s.

It seems unlikely considering United’s recent struggles in front of goal, but Ronaldo is always capable of pulling out a top performance, as Tottenham well know.

Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 20 career matches against Tottenham, for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, while also adding a further five assists.

With 19 goal contributions in 20 games against Spurs, Ronaldo needs to continue this impressive record for his own sake this week, if he is even selected.

Anthony Martial is working his way back to fitness and if Ronaldo draws another blank this week, then he could well be dropped against Chelsea on Saturday.

Can Ronaldo still contribute big this season

Ronaldo’s record is truly remarkable but his past achievements haunt a player who is simply not the same as what he was.

But nobody is expecting him to be the player who scored more than 60 goals in a single season three times for Real Madrid.

Instead we want him to be closer to the forward who struck 24 goals last season, who was single-handedly capable of winning these big matches against Tottenham.

His hat-trick against Tottenham came in March, just a matter of months ago. While this will be tricky to repeat, he has looked a shadow of the striker who was so lethal in this match last season.

Ronaldo has struggled to make an impact and make his mark under Erik ten Hag. A big performance against Spurs this week could turn it all around – but Antonio Conte’s side will be ready for him.