How Piers Morgan saved Man Utd's season

Cameron Smith

• 27 Feb 2023 14:15 GMT
• 4 min read

It's November 2022. Manchester United are fifth in the Premier League table, 11 points behind league leaders Arsenal.

With the English top flight paused in order for the 2022 World Cup to commence, Piers Morgan conducts an interview with Red Devils star Cristiano Ronaldo that goes viral.

In the interview, Ronaldo slams former Man Utd boss Ralf Rangnick, current Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag, as well as several other influential figures at the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr: Goals, assists, results & fixtures

Having failed to secure a move to a Champions League club during the summer transfer window, Ronaldo remained put at Old Trafford, but found game time limited under new boss Ten Hag.

The result? A mutual termination of his contract and a subsequent move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr rather than to a Champions League club like Ronaldo had dreamed of just a few months prior.

That interview caused the football world to go into meltdown, but Morgan saved Man Utd's season by speaking to Ronaldo on air.

READ: Manager of the year? Ten Hag's Man Utd miracle

Since Ronaldo's exit, Man Utd have lost just once in 19 games, winning 15 of them, and sealed their first trophy since 2017 with victory over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.

They are playing scintillating football and are now in the hunt for four trophies this season, with the Premier League title still in sight. They are now eight points behind Arsenal, despite the Gunners' imperious form, and perhaps more notably, they were just four points clear of Liverpool when Ronaldo left - they are now 13 points ahead of Jurgen Klopp's side.

In the four Premier League games Ronaldo started for Man Utd this season, the Red Devils picked up just one win (1-0 vs Aston Villa), as well as one draw and two defeats.

Of the other 10 league games before he left, Man Utd won six, drew two and lost two. That is a theme that has continued since he said farewell to Old Trafford - Man Utd are better without Ronaldo.

What has Ten Hag changed?

Firstly, without Ronaldo in the squad, Man Utd look far more harmonious. Although he wasn't a regular starter in the first-half of the season, Ronaldo was still regularly used and that negatively impacted Man Utd as a team.

Wout Weghorst was an unconventional January signing and he's still yet to score his first Premier League goal for Man Utd, but since joining, the Dutchman has already attempted three times more tackles than Ronaldo did during the first-half of the campaign. What he offers defensively provides Man Utd with a far better structure than when Ronaldo was in the side.

In addition to that, he's played the role of a facilitator perfectly, which has allowed Marcus Rashford to flourish.

Rashford has netted 25 goals and assisted a further nine in just 38 matches in all competitions this season, while he's netted 16 times in just 17 games since the World Cup break ended. He has also provided five assists in that time.

His form since returning from Qatar has been mesmeric and the movement between himself and Weghorst has worked perfectly. The Dutchman often drops deep, while Rashford simultaneously makes a darting run in behind. Right now, it seems unstoppable.

Bruno Fernandes' form has also picked up since Ronaldo left Old Trafford. The Portuguese international was the main man before Ronaldo re-joined in 2021, but the arrival of the five-time Ballon d'Or winner took the limelight away from Fernandes, and he struggled.

In 14 games before Ronaldo left this season, the former Sporting CP star had just three goals and assists to his name in the Premier League. That tally now stands at 11 after contributing to eight goals in 10 games since the resumption of the Premier League season.

Man Utd were always a better team without Ronaldo and that fact has been highlighted since his departure. The Portuguese legend may be smashing it for Al-Nassr, but his impact on Ten Hag's side was a negative one.

His individual quality saw him net 25 goals in all competitions last summer, but Man Utd's team cohesion and structure looks far better with him playing in Saudi Arabia.

However, thanks to his interview with Piers Morgan, Man Utd were able to say goodbye to Ronaldo and hello to trophies once again.