Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2021-22
FT Desk
- Updated: 31 Jul 2022 15:39 BST
- 15 min read
Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Man Utd from Juventus in the summer of 2021 was undoubtedly one of the biggest transfer stories in the world of football as the Portuguese legend returned to Old Trafford after 12 years away.
FOR CRISTIANO RONALDO 2022-23 STATS, CLICK BELOW
Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2022-23
The 37-year-old remains one of the most prolific players in the world, with his return to England causing United fans to dream of their returning hero leading them back to silverware, but the ongoing saga over his future is leaving some concerned that he might not be here next season.
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Most Premier League pundits, though, predicted a successful campaign for the Portugal great.
All in all, Ronaldo enjoyed an excellent season individually but it was a disaster from a team point of view as Man Utd endured their most disappointing campaign since the Premier League was formed in 1992, finishing sixth and winning no trophies.,
Ronaldo made his second debut for United against Newcastle on September 11, 2021. It was a dream day for the Portugal star as he scored twice in a 4-1 win at Old Trafford.
Indeed, the veteran made an incredible start to the season with United as he scored four goals in his first week. This included his first Champions League goal in his first Champions League appearance of 2021-22 against Young Boys and a strike in a 2-1 win over West Ham.
Ronaldo suffered his first Premier League defeat back at United in a 1-0 home loss to Aston Villa but continued to be a clutch player in key moments.
He scored a winner deep into injury time to clinch a 2-1 UCL victory over Villarreal on September 29 and then headed home another late clincher in the 3-2 comeback win over Atalanta. He also fired home late on to rescue a point in the 2-2 draw away at Atalanta.
But, Ronaldo goals aside, Man Utd were struggling under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They lost 4-2 at Leicester City and were thrashed 5-0 at home by Liverpool in the Premier League to put Ole on the brink of the sack.
Solskjaer survived for a while, with Ronaldo scoring and assisting in a 3-0 victory at Tottenham. But a 2-0 loss to local rivals Man City in the Manchester derby and a humiliating 4-1 thrashing to relegation-threatened Watford was the final nail in the coffin for the manager, who was sacked on November 21.
Ronaldo scored in the first game of the post-Solskjaer era under caretaker manager Michael Carrick, lobbing the goalkeeper in a 2-0 Champions League win at Villarreal. He then surpassed 800 career goals with a double in a 3-2 victory over Arsenal.
Ralf Rangnick was hired in December as interim manager until the end of the season. And this didn't stop Ronaldo from ending 2021 on a high. He scored two and assisted one in United's final three games of the year. This meant that in 2021, Ronaldo scored an impressive 14 goals in 20 appearances for Man Utd.
The year 2022 did not start as well as the previous one ended, though.
Indeed, he failed to score in any of the club's first three Premier League matches of the new year, drawing a blank against Wolves, Brentford and West Ham in successive fixtures. Moreover, he failed to record even an assist, while he reacted angrily to being replaced in the clash against the Bees.
The uncharacteristically poor run of form continued in the FA Cup. In a fourth-round clash against Championship side Middlesbrough, Ronaldo was again held in check. Perhaps most remarkably, though, he missed a penalty in normal time. He made up for this by converting in the shootout, though the Red Devils were knocked out.
Surprisingly, Ronaldo was then dropped for Man Utd's next league match against Burnley and despite coming on in the second half he was unable to add to his tally. The Portugal international then started the following league game against Southampton but was unable to find the back of the net there too.
Ronaldo finally scored his first goal of 2022 in the 2-0 win over Brighton on February 15.
This proved to be something of a flash in the pan for Ronaldo during a difficult period. Indeed, he would not score again in February, failing to net in three subsequent matches.
Into March and he missed the crucial Manchester derby at the Etihad due to a hip flexor injury. Man Utd were subsequently thrashed 4-1.
After a mini-break in Portugal, Ronaldo returned to England with a bang. He put in a vintage performance with a brilliant hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Tottenham.
But the joy was short-lived as in the very next game Man Utd were dumped out of the Champions League in the last-16 stage, losing 1-0 at home to Atletico Madrid.
After Ronaldo had helped Portugal qualify for the World Cup with victories over Turkey and North Macedonia at the end of March, he picked up a virus that prevented him from featuring in Man Utd's 1-1 home draw with Leicester.
When he made his return to action, it proved to be a frustrating event as Man Utd were defeated 1-0 away to Everton in a result that dealt a huge blow to their top four hopes.
However, he netted his second hat-trick of 2022 as Man Utd secured a vital 3-2 home win over Norwich as they chased fourth place in the league. Ronaldo had initially netted two first-half goals only to see the visitors hit back, but a brilliant free kick won the game for the Red Devils.
Tragically, Ronaldo would miss a trip to Liverpool due to the death of his baby son during birth. When he returned to action, he did so in typically resilient style by poaching a goal in a 3-1 defeat against Arsenal. It was a landmark strike for him as it was his 100th in the Premier League, making him the fourth Man Utd player to hit that achievement for the club.
He then rescued the equaliser against Chelsea to seal a point for the Red Devils, despite being dominated, in their hunt for European football.
His hot run of form continued the following Monday in an encounter against Brentford at Old Trafford - the last home match of the season. Ronaldo signed off by scoring a penalty, while he also had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside call in a comfortable 3-1 victory.
Man Utd's penultimate game of the season was far less successful, though, as they were thrashed 4-0 at Brighton.
He sat out the final game of the season, a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace but finished the campaign with very impressive individual numbers of 24 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions.
With 18 Premier League goals, only Mohamed Salah and Heung-Min Son scored more.
This page will be regularly updated to showcase Ronaldo’s individual club statistics for Manchester United throughout the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 2021-22 stats
Appearances: 38
Starts: 34
Goals: 24
Assists: 3
Ronaldo: Matches played
Man Utd 4-1 Newcastle, September 11 – Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 2
Assists: 0
Young Boys 2-1 Man Utd, September 14 - Champions League
Minutes played: 72
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
West Ham 1-2 Man Utd, September 19 – Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Just @Cristiano things.#MUFC | #WHUMUN pic.twitter.com/vBSgP1F48V
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 19, 2021
Man Utd 0-1 West Ham, September 22 – EFL Cup
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 0-1 Aston Villa, September 25 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 2-1 Villarreal, September 29 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-1 Everton, October 2 – Premier League
Minutes played: 33
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Leicester 4-2 Man Utd, October 16 – Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 3-2 Atalanta, October 20 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Man Utd 0-5 Liverpool, October 24 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Tottenham 0-3 Man Utd, October 30 - Premier League
Minutes played: 71
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Atalanta 2-2 Man Utd, November 2 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 2
Assists: 0
Man Utd 0-2 Man City, November 6 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Watford 4-1 Man Utd, November 20 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 1
Villarreal 0-2 Man Utd, November 23 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd, November 28 - Premier League
Minutes played: 26
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Villarreal 0-2 Man Utd, November 23 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Man Utd 3-2 Arsenal, December 2 - Premier League
Minutes played: 87
Goals: 2
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-0 Crystal Palace, December 5 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 0-0 Young Boys, December 8 - Champions League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Norwich City 0-1 Man Utd, December 11 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Newcastle 1-1 Man Utd, December 27- Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 3-1 Burnley, December 30 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Man Utd 0-1 Wolves, January 3 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa, January 10 - FA Cup
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Aston Villa 2-2 Man Utd, January 15 - Premier League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Brentford 1-3 Man Utd, January 19 - Premier League
Minutes played: 71
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-0 West Ham, January 22 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-1 Middlesborough (pens 7-8), February 4 - FA Cup
Minutes played: 120
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Burnley 1-1 Man Utd, February 8 - Premier League
Minutes played: 22
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd v Southampton, February 12 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 2-0 Brighton, February 12 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Leeds United 2-4 Man Utd, February 20 - Premier League
Minutes played: 85
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Man Utd, February 23 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 0-0 Watford, February 26 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man City 4-1 Man Utd, March 5 - Premier League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 3-2 Tottenham, March 12 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 3
Assists: 0
Man Utd 0-1 Atletico Madrid, March 16 - Champions League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-1 Leicester City, April 2 - Premier League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Everton 1-0 Man Utd, April 9 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Man Utd 3-2 Norwich City, April 16 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 3
Assists: 0
Liverpool 0-4 Man Utd, April 19- Premier League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Arsenal 3-1 Man Utd, April 23 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea, April 28 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Man Utd 3-0 Brentford, May 2 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Man Utd's last 12 goals:
Varane
Ronaldo
Bruno
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Fred
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo#MUFC 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cgfPJALNIN— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) May 2, 2022
Brighton 4-0 Man Utd, May 7 - Premier League
Minutes played: 90
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Crystal Palace 1-0 Man Utd, May 22 - Premier League
Minutes played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Cristiano Ronaldo 2020-21 stats
The 2020-21 season was not a vintage one for Ronaldo from a team point of view, even though he again produced some impressive individual statistics in his last full year in Italy.
Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage by Porto, while Inter ended the club’s historic run of nine straight Serie A triumphs, resulting in the departure of coach Andrea Pirlo.
Ronaldo did win one trophy, playing in the final of the Coppa Italia as Juve triumphed over Atalanta.
For his goalscoring efforts in Serie A, the Portugal international won the Capocannoniere for the first time in three attempts in Italy's top flight.
Ronaldo took that award after scoring 29 times in 33 league games (31 starts).
Across all competitions, he finished with 36 goals from 44 outings (41 starts), just one goal less than the 37 he had managed in the previous year and significantly more than the 28 registered in his first season.
