Gary Neville On How Cristiano Ronaldo's Game Has Changed

At 36, the Ronaldo who has returned to Manchester United is seen as some way past his peak but has he proved against Newcastle, he can still make a big impact.

"This is a different Ronaldo second time around," said Neville.

"We know that he is the most alert, he is the one who anticipates in the box, he is the one most driven to score goals and create great numbers.

"The best way to look at his career and how it has evolved, his involvement in the build-up is limited. If you look at his touches, he goes from 65 touches at Manchester United and it is decreasing year on year.

"He is going from a winger who is involved in the game regularly to someone who is now essentially playing in the penalty box and having a lot fewer touches.

"Again, his dribbles are nearly half what they used to be at Manchester United. He is not going wide, getting on the ball and going past people. That is not saying he will never do it but it has decreased enormously.

"The chances that he creates for others, again, have decreased enormously in the last 10 to 15 years. His assists you can see are getting less. His shots are getting a lot less. His shots from outside the box are decreasing.

"So all these stats are telling you that this is a penalty-box footballer who is restricting his play outside of the box, far greater than at any moment in his career, because of his age.

"But then you look at his stats that are going up, the stats that are improving. Shot conversion has gone from 12 per cent at United to 17 per cent last season at Juventus, his highest ever level, the best of his career.

"His goals, he is at 0.93 goals per 90 minutes last season for Juventus. That has always been high from his third or fourth season at Manchester United.

"It just tells you what Manchester United have signed. This is a number nine. This is no longer the player who will counter-attack from box to box regularly in matches.

"He will live in and around the box, he will live in and around the centre-backs, he will anticipate, he will make movements that are outstanding across defenders.

"He will hopefully - from Manchester United's point of view - make a big difference in the games where there are narrow margins.

"Manchester United had seven nil-nils last season, the most that they have ever had in Premier League history. They drew 11 games overall and lost six, finishing 12 points behind Manchester City.

"If you are Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thinking about Cristiano Ronaldo, you are looking at stats like that. Is he the man to score a goal in narrow-margin matches. I know it is hypothetical but if they can convert those nil-nils to wins then Manchester United are champions.

"That is the question now. Is Cristiano Ronaldo going to be enough to make Manchester United champions this season?"

#CristianoRonaldo #GaryNeville #ManchesterUnited

Source: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12407308/cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-who-is-the-greatest-gary-neville-and-jamie-carragher-disagree-on-monday-night-football

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