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Ronaldo’s only appearance at Watford came 15 years ago with Solskjaer

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s only appearance at Vicarage Road came 15 years ago when he started alongside Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s United won 2-1 that day thanks to goals from Mikael Silvestre and Ryan Giggs.

United’s centre-midfield duo for that trip were Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher, two more ex-United players that help form Solskjaer’s current coaching staff.

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo (L
Photo credit should read ANDREW YATES/AFP via Getty Images

It’s very rare that Ronaldo plays in a stadium that he has previously failed to score in, so the legendary Portuguese star will be eager to get off the mark in Hertfordshire come November 20th.

But how does the 36-year-old’s overall record stack up against the Hornets…..

Big wins and goals

FA Cup Semi Final: Watford v Manchester United
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

In a 4-0 Premier League win against Watford at Old Trafford in January 2006, Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Solskjaer had been fouled.

The Norwegian was then brought off after 66 minutes when United were winning 2-0 after a Lloyd Doyley own goal, and he was replaced by he iconic Swede Henrik Larsson.

Larsson combined with Wayne Rooney to scored United’s third before the club’s all-time top goalscorer scored a second, thanks to a Ronaldo assist.

Three months later, the two sides were facing off against one and other in an FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park.

Watford v Manchester United
Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images

A Rooney opener was cancelled out by Hameur Bouazza, but just two minutes later Ronaldo restored the Reds’ lead.

United went on to win comfortably 4-1 before losing in the final to Chelsea through a Didier Drogba extra time goal.

So in Ronaldo’s three games against Watford, he has three wins with two goals and an assist to his name.

Hopefully he makes it four wins in four with at least one goal to his name at Vicarage Road in nine days time.