Cristiano Ronaldo could make his first FA Cup appearance for Manchester United in 13 years against Aston Villa on Monday.
The 36-year-old inevitably scored in his last game in the competition which came in a 4-1 win against Derby County in February 2009.
After the 1-0 defeat against Wolves, the Manchester United first team squad were given two days off and are due to return to Carrington today.
Although there will have been a week in between the defeat to Bruno Lage’s side and the visit of Steven Gerrard’s Villa, Ralf Rangnick may shuffle his pack.
However, with the FA Cup being United’s only realistic chance of lifting silverware this season, Ronaldo is unlikely to take kindly to potentially being given a night off.
Here we take a look at Ronaldo’s record in the prestigious cup competition…
A mixture of FA Cup success and heartbreak for Cristiano Ronaldo
In his first season at Old Trafford, the Portuguese superstar played an influential role in United lifting the FA Cup.
Ronaldo scored two goals and made four assists from his five appearances, which was highlighted by him heading home the opener in the 3-0 win against Millwall, via a Gary Neville cross, in the final at the Millennium Stadium.
The 36-year-old maintained his impressive FA Cup record into the following season where he scored four goals and made three assists from seven matches.
Ronaldo dominated the 4-1 semi-final win against Newcastle where he scored and registered two assists.
But the Portugal international suffered his first defeat in the competition when United lost on penalties to Arsenal. Ronaldo scored his penalty, but Paul Scholes saw his spot kick saved by Jens Lehmann which was enough for Arsene Wenger’s side to lift the trophy.
In the 2005/06 season, United were knocked out in the fifth round, following a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
United rekindled our love affair with the competition the following season where Ronaldo scored three goals en-route to us reaching our third final in four seasons.
But we suffered heartache once again as a Didier Drogba strike in the 116th minute of extra time proved enough for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side.
Ronaldo scored three goals across the third and fourth rounds in 2008, and after missing the 4-0 win against Arsenal, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner returned for the quarter-final clash against Portsmouth at Old Trafford.
But following a Tomasz Kuszczak red card who had earlier replaced Edwin van de Sar, Rio Ferdinand was unable to save a Sulley Muntari penalty which earnt Harry Redknapp’s Pompey a shock win.
In the 2009 campaign, Ronaldo scored against the Rams in the last-16, but didn’t play any part in our quarter-final or semi-final where we lost to Everton on penalties.
Although Ronaldo has got his hands on the FA Cup, the two final defeats will still hurt, and he will be eager to lift the trophy once again, following his triumph 18 years ago.
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