03.03.2022 » What if Manchester United wins the Champions League this year?
The current season has had its highs and lows for Manchester United, as the club already experienced 3 different managers and went from favorites to underdogs in the Premier League title aspirations. Ronaldo's signing in late August wasn't expected by most of the bookmakers in the industry, not even those who dominate the market with tempting casino bonus and promotions. Nevertheless, it did mark a tipping point in the Red Devil's campaign, with most of the fans believing the former Real Madrid and Juventus star would lead the club back to winning titles, especially after having finished second in the league in the last season. However and after a somewhat positive start, it wouldn't take long for the team to start dropping points and raising question marks about multiple aspects of their gameplay. Ronaldo, who also started his second journey with the club on a high note, was no exception and seems to have been affected by Manchester United's dip in form, especially in when looking at the domestic competitions. Nevertheless, there's still hope for a good run in the Champions League...
Cristiano Ronaldo - A legacy for centuries:
A strong group stage campaign...
After being drawn in a difficult group next to Atalanta, Villarreal and Young Boys back in August, there was obviously some skepticism among Manchester United fans as the fight for the top 2 spots was expected to be fierce.
As if having Atalanta and Villarreal in the same group wasn't bad enough, the Red Devils were handed a shocking 2-1 loss in their debut game in Switzerland against Young Boys, which basically left him with a very small margin for errors in the remaining 5 games of the group stages.
Luckily, Ronaldo had just signed for the club a couple weeks before and his impact both on and off the pitch didn't take long to be noticed. The Portuguese superstar fueled his new club to 3 wins in their following 4 European fixtures, scoring decisive goals in pretty much every encounter. Mostly thanks to Ronaldo's overwhelming performances, Manchester United managed to clinch the top spot of the group and qualified to the Champions League knockout stages.
The knockout stages...
With a ticket to the knockout stages in their pocket by late November, Manchester United had the chance to recharge and refocus their attention in the Premier League and other domestic competitions. However and somehow surprisingly, the team never seemed to adjust well to the new manager Ralf Rangnick and both the performances and the results were far from what the fans were expecting...
Even Ronaldo, who had been carrying the team on his shoulders in different occasions in his first months at the club, suddenly faded away and stopped scoring those goals we got used to see him scoring on a regular basis.
With the return of the Champions League this past February, it's almost like some sort of spark reignited at Old Trafford and the players' motivation levels have gone up once again. The first-leg clash against Atletico already showed us an improved United team and the 1-1 draw leaves everything open for the return leg, scheduled for March 15.
If Manchester United beats Atletico when they meet again at Old Trafford, we can only imagine the confidence boost that would mean to Ronaldo and his teammates and how important that would be for the remaining of the season. And if there's any player with plenty of experience in this competition who is capable of leading the team in the right direction, that has to be Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Manchester United is on March 6, against Manchester City. You can watch Manchester City vs Manchester United, Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad, Liverpool vs West Ham, Burnley vs Chelsea, Leicester City vs Leeds, and Inter vs Salernitana, all matches provided from our football live streaming game pages.
Manchester United next game:
Manchester City vs Manchester United kick-off time (06-03-2022):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 23:30
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 22:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 21:00
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 17:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 17:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 16:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 12:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 11:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 08:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / si.com / cnn.com / foxsports.com
