Just four goals in 12 games – Is Ronaldo’s away form to blame for Man Utd’s struggles?

Ronaldo’s poor away form 

Manchester United were dealt a huge blow in their hopes of securing a late top four finish in the Premier League on Saturday, when Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side blew them away with a 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. 

With both former Premier League powerhouses now scrambling just to qualify for the Champions League next season, it was the North London club that looked far more assured, composed and ultimately like the better team as they picked up a valuable three points. 

However, as Man Utd fans will be well aware of at this point in the season, the Old Trafford club’s struggles on the pitch go far deeper than simply not being able to match Arsenal in a one-off match. 

Indeed, the six-point gap between Man Utd in sixth place and Arsenal in fourth could be perfectly summed up by one major flaw with the Red Devils this season: their terrible away form. 

Man Utd’s struggles on the road 

While Man Utd’s overall form may be far from ideal, it’s important to note where the club’s problems are going wrong on the pitch and so far this season that has been away from the “Theatre of Dreams”, as fans of the club so eloquently describe Old Trafford. 

Indeed, Ralf Rangnick’s side have picked up 31 points from 17 home games this season, which is not only a decent points per game average of 1.82, but is also the joint fourth best return in the division. As such, if the league table was decided on points won at home, Man Utd would certainly be in contention for a top four finish. 

The serious problems arise when we look at Man Utd’s form on the road. From 17 away games this season, Rangnick’s side have won just 23 points. Which is a points per game average of just 1.35 and a 26 percent drop off from their record at home. 

As such, Man Utd currently sit eighth in the Premier League when it comes to points won on the road, which clearly illustrates where things have gone wrong for the club this season. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored 25% of his Premier League goals in away games this season

Is that why Man Utd have struggled to reach the top four? pic.twitter.com/O3So556W02

— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) April 26, 2022

Is Cristiano Ronaldo to blame? 

One of the most notable differences between Man Utd’s impressive form at home and their struggles on the road is the goals they score, most notably from star forward Cristiano Ronaldo. 

As we can see from the Premier League’s home and away goal scorers chart, while Ronaldo has scored an impressive 16 goals this season, only four of them have come in away games for Rangnick’s side. 

In fact, in Man Utd’s last 10 games on the road, Ronaldo has featured in seven of them but scored just two goals. And as such, it’s no coincidence that Man Utd only won three of those matches. 

While the club’s problems do go much deeper than the form of one player, Ronaldo’s peculiar struggles on the road are surely playing a huge part in Man Utd’s failure to keep up in the race for a top four finish. 

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