Cristiano Ronaldo's record vs. Real Sociedad

Since being left out against Chelsea as punishment for his refusal to enter the field as a late substitute against Tottenham Hotspur, the 37-year-old has played the full 90 minutes against Sheriff Tiraspol and West Ham United.

Two of Ronaldo's three goals for the Red Devils this season have come in the Europa League, and the team's head coach Erik ten Hag could draw on the Portuguese's experience of facing Real Sociedad when the two teams lock horns on Thursday.

Man United need to win by two clear goals to top Group E and secure an automatic spot in the knockout round of the European competition.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at Ronaldo's record against Real Sociedad, who recorded a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture back in September.

Ronaldo has faced the Basque outfit on 10 occasions during his professional career, boasting a record of nine wins and one defeat, scoring 15 times in the process and also contributing four assists.

The Portuguese played the full 90 minutes of Man United's clash with the La Liga outfit at Old Trafford on September 8, but he could not prevent his side from suffering a 1-0 defeat, as a controversial Brais Mendez penalty secured an impressive victory for the visitors.

Ronaldo had a lot of success against Real Sociedad during his time at Real Madrid, though, facing them on nine occasions in La Liga, recording nine victories, scoring 15 goals and contributing four assists.

The forward hit a hat trick against the Basque side on his final appearance against them for Los Blancos, which saw the capital giants record a 5-2 win.

Man United will need to win by a two-goal margin on Thursday evening if they are to move above Real Sociedad to the top of the section, and Ronaldo has hit braces in four separate outings against them.

The forward has also struck two hat tricks against the Blue and Whites, with his first one coming during the 2013-14 campaign, before as mentioned, scoring another three during the 2017-18 campaign.

Interestingly, though, Ronaldo has never scored an away goal against Real Sociedad, with all 15 coming at Bernabeu.

The attacker has also only faced the Basque side twice away from home, missing the majority of Real Madrid's fixtures in San Sebastian due to injury problems.