"He’s playing with a few dummies" - Dean Saunders slams Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates and 'bang-average' defense at Manchester United

Former Welsh forward Dean Saunders believes the Manchester United squad is not anywhere near the level of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Saunders criticized Ronaldo's teammates for their poor performance against Burnley and labeled them "dummies" that the Portuguese ace has to play with every week.

The 57-year-old player-turned-pundit said:

“At one point they should’ve been 3-0 up, they were running away with it. Then the minute they get a bit of adversity they seem to go backwards and crumble. If you asked Ronaldo, ‘Who’s the worst midfield players you’ve ever played with in your career?’ Fred and [Scott] McTominay won’t be far off. People are starting to point the finger at Ronaldo, but he’s playing with a few dummies, some of them are not on the same wavelength as him."

Manchester United had yet another poor outing in the Premier League on Tuesday as they only managed to secure a 1-1 draw against Burnley.

Paul Pogba opened the scoring for Manchester United in the first half. The Red Devils had two goals disallowed in the opening half of the game. Edinson Cavani also had a close-range header saved by Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.

Manchester United were made to rue their missed opportunities when Jay Rodriguez equalized for Burnley early in the second half. The Clarets' new signing, Wout Weghorst, got the better of Harry Maguire as he provided the assist for the forward.

It is worth mentioning that Cristiano Ronaldo started the game on the bench, with Edinson Cavani preferred over him. The 37-year-old was introduced with 20 minutes left in the game but had little to no impact on the proceedings.

---

Cristiano Ronaldo has gone four Premier League matches without a goal for Manchester United

As things stand, Cristiano Ronaldo has gone four Premier League matches without finding the back of the net for Manchester United. He last scored a league goal for the club in the reverse fixture against Burnley in December. The Red Devils secured a 3-1 win over the Clarets on that occasion.

Since then, Ronaldo has failed to score against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford, West Ham United and Burnley again.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also failed to find the net against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup despite playing 120 minutes on that occasion. He missed a penalty on the same night. After an action-packed 1-1 draw, Manchester United suffered a 7-8 penalty shootout defeat and crashed out of the competition.

This is Ronaldo's longest goal drought since 2010.

Despite his recent poor form, Cristiano Ronaldo remains Manchester United's leading goalscorer this season. He has scored 14 goals in 25 appearances for the club across all competitions.

The Red Devils currently occupy fifth place in the Premier League table. They will next face Southampton in the league on Saturday.