Stats show Ronaldo hasn't formed strong partnership with anyone now at Man Utd

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Premier League goal for Manchester United during their disappointing 3-1 loss to Arsenal on Saturday afternoon.

Ronaldo's first half strike saw him become the 33rd player in history to reach 100 Premier League goals - having already reached a century and beyond in LaLiga (311), the Champions (140) and on the international stage for Portugal (115).

The 37-year-old striker managed the feat despite having failed to form a strong partnership with anyone in the current Manchester United after returning to Old Trafford in August 2021.

Ronaldo is currently sat behind only Wayne Rooney (183), Ryan Giggs (109) and Paul Scholes (107) when it comes to Manchester United’s top Premier League goal scorers.

Ronaldo will be looking to close the gap between himself and the United record holders during their final four games of the 2021-2022 season. However, he will need a little help from his team-mates.

CR7 has failed to form a strong partnership with anyone in the current Manchester United team. As it stands, just one member of the 2021-2022 squad has assisted him more than once.

Alex Telles is the only current Red Devil to have assisted Ronaldo twice. He fired in the two corners that saw the Portugal international score against Tottenham and Norwich.

Telles has followed in the footsteps of Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes - who all assisted Ronaldo twice during their days of playing alongside the striker at Manchester United.

Meanwhile, the likes of Luke Shaw, Anthony Elanga, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic have all assisted Ronaldo once this season.

They join the likes of former United full-back Rio Ferdinand, left-back Patrice Evra and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar on one assist - which is slightly worrying considering they defensive players.

Although the quantity of players named this season may suggest that Manchester United have an array of athletes that can create goal scoring opportunities, it also highlights the lack of partnerships between the players at Old Trafford.

Take Tottenham for example, they have thrived off the partnership of Harry Kane and Son. The iconic duo have reached new heights after building a formidable relationship.

Kane assisted Son for Tottenham's fourth goal during their 4-0 win over Leeds on Saturday. The assist marked the 37th time Kane and Son had combined in the Premier League.

As a result, the Tottenham pair have surpassed the former Chelsea duo of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard - who had combined for 36 Premier League goals between 2004 and 2012.

Ronaldo previously combined well with Giggs and Rooney at Manchester United. Giggs provided eight assists while Rooney provided seven.

They were also responsible for helping Ronaldo and United secure three successive league titles between 2006 and 2009.

Ronaldo also connected well with Nani - who provided one more assist (five) than Michael Carrick (four). While Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez provided Ronaldo with three assists each.

Despite struggling for a strong connection this season, Ronaldo has continued to score goals at a healthy rate since he made his sensational return to Old Trafford in August 2021.

He has found the back of the net more times this season than he did in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. However, with just four games to go, Ronaldo needs 84 goals to overtake Rooney, 10 goals to overtake Giggs and eight goals to overtake Scholes.

Ronaldo's current team-mates are not entirely to blame for the lack of connections within the United squad this season. CR7 has failed to provide his colleagues with goal scoring opportunities too.

Ronaldo has provided Manchester United with a combined total 48 assists from his two stints at the club. However, he has failed to make any meaningful connections this season.

Ronaldo previously set up Rooney on 13 occasions and Ruud van Nistelrooy on four occasions. He also assisted Roy Keane and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on two occasions but he has only helped Edison Cavani, Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay score once this term.

Therefore, Ronaldo must look to connect between his with team-mates and his team-mates must look to connect between with him to be in with a chance of increasing their goal return.