Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's return to the starting lineup, Manchester United lost their fourth consecutive Premier League away match against Arsenal on April 23. Bruno Fernandes' failure to convert a penalty when United was down 2-1 in the 57th minute was one of the reasons for their defeat.
Ronaldo looked active and was key to Manchester United's chance creation, dropping deep on several occasions to release runners on the counter-attack. The Red Devils got off to a bad start, as their defending allowed Arsenal to score two goals in the first half-hour, giving the Gunners a 2-0 lead. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, beat Aaron Ramsdale with the lightest of touches minutes later to give his team a fighting chance and trim the deficit to one goal. When Manchester United were given an opportunity to equalise with a penalty kick in the second half, the 37-year-old might have added to his score.
Most people were surprised when his Portuguese compatriot Bruno Fernandes came up to take charge of the penalty. The decision backfired, as the offensive midfielder hit the post despite sending the Arsenal goalkeeper the wrong way, and Manchester United remained a goal behind.
Ralf Rangnick, the Red Devils' manager, has now explained why Cristiano Ronaldo did not take the critical penalty kick. By 90 minutes, the German was quoted as saying:
‘’It's a fight between the two of them. Both players are penalty takers, and Cristiano told me after the game that he wasn't feeling good enough to take the spot, so Bruno did. It was maybe two or three yards farther to the right in the end, but he sent the goalie towards the opposite corner, where it only struck the post."
It was also the second time Fernandes had taken a penalty while Ronaldo was in the starting lineup and missed. In September 2021, he missed a stoppage-time penalty against Aston Villa in a league match.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored Manchester United's 100th Premier League goal.
The Portugal international's goal in the 34th minute put him in the Old Trafford club's history books, as he became the club's fourth player to score 100 Premier League goals. In this category, he is only behind Wayne Rooney (183), Ryan Giggs (109), and Paul Scholes (107).
If Cristiano Ronaldo's magnificent finish in the second half had not been ruled out for the tiniest offside, he would have scored his 101st goal for Manchester United. From over his shoulder, the Portuguese skillfully monitored the ball and delivered the finish while turning towards the goal. Arsenal won the game in the second half thanks to Granit Xhaka's long-range screamer in the 70th minute, which took the wind out of United's sails.
The win keeps the Red Devils in sixth place, despite the fact that they have only 54 points after 34 games. Arsenal now leads them by six points, and Tottenham Hotspur might go six points clear if they beat Brentford today. Cristiano Ronaldo, one cannot help but believe, at this moment, he deserves better.
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