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Former West Ham United winger Trevor Sinclair believes Manchester United should not expect a world-class performance from an aging Cristiano Ronaldo in every match. This comes after the Red Devils were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 stage.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Trevor Sinclair said the following in regards to Ronaldo's sub-par performance at Old Trafford on Tuesday:
"I don't understand what's going on at Man Utd, now you look what happened last night and I don't know where Ralf Rangnick thinks the performance of Ronaldo is going to be. He's 37 years old, he's just played a game three days earlier, 83 minutes he came off, scored a hat trick, superbly well."
"He is never going to be able to reproduce that kind of performance three days after against better quality opposition. So it didn't really surprise me that Cristiano Ronaldo didn't really affect the game last night."
The five-time Ballon d'Or had a poor outing against Atletico Madrid despite coming into the game on the back of scoring a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur. Ronaldo failed to have a single shot in the game even though he was on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.
Manchester United did have a few half chances through Anthony Elanga and Bruno Fernandes. However, a first-half goal from full-back Renan Lodi was enough for Atleti to secure a 1-0 win and a safe passage to the last eight of the Champions League.
It is also worth mentioning that Manchester United will remain trophyless for the fifth consecutive season.
Cristiano Ronaldo has now exited the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage for two years in a row. His Juventus side were knocked out by FC Porto in last year's tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a mixed season at Manchester United
It has not been smooth sailing for Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford since his move from Juventus in the summer of 2021. The 37-year-old forward has enjoyed patches of good form while also enduring a barren run.
Ronaldo made a great start to the season and netted key goals for Manchester United in the Champions League. These included late winners against Villarreal and Atalanta.
However, at the start of 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo had a barren run in front of goal. Prior to his hat-trick against Spurs, the Portuguese forward had scored just once in 10 games across all competitions.
Despite his inconsistent form, Ronaldo is still Manchester United's leading goalscorer this season. United's number seven has scored 18 goals in 32 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions.
