Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has committed more fouls than he has had shots on target in the Premier League this season.
The 37-year-old forward failed to find the back of the net against Aston Villa at the weekend – an all too familiar story for the experienced striker, who has struggled to find the back of the net this season.
In fact, Ronaldo has scored just three times in 16 games in all competitions so far this campaign, including a single goal in the Premier League; a strike against Everton in October.
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It has been a start to forget for Portugal's all-time top goalscorer ahead of this winter's World Cup, and one stat in particular will no doubt concern his fans.
It emerged after the Aston Villa game that Ronaldo has committed a total of seven fouls in the Premier League this season – a statistic that was soon compared to his six shots on target.
And it turns out only one of those shot attempts were successful – that equaliser at Goodison Park last month.
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Ronaldo, who has only started four of United's 13 league games, conceded a free-kick after a foul on Ezri Konsa in the 88th minute last weekend.
It was a perfect summarisation of his lacklustre performance and nobody, and I mean nobody, will be more frustrated than Ronaldo after Erik ten Hag handed him the captain's armband for Sunday's trip.
Ahead of the 3-1 defeat against Villa, United boss Erik ten Hag confirmed he was his fourth choice as Manchester United captain.
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He explained: "Harry Maguire is on the bench, our captain of the club. Then it is about David de Gea who is a leader but is a goalie and is far away from the outfield.
"Then Casemiro is the leader but he is not speaking perfect English so then Cristiano is the leader."
After the full-time whistle, Ten Hag lamented his team after trying to find Ronaldo with 'stupid' crosses.
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"No, I think it was stupid to do that [often look for Ronaldo in the air]," he said. "We delivered too many quick crosses in from too far away. There was too much forcing and we didn't have to.
"We have to find the crosses in the right moments. The right moment was when Christian Eriksen did so in the first half, and the moment was when he found Cristiano in the pocket at the far post. That was the right moment."
Thoughts on Ronaldo's start to the season? Is he still good enough to start every game for United?
Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Premier League
Jack Kenmare