The stats that show why Ronaldo should not take a free-kick in the Manchester derby

United travel to the Etihad for derby day hoping to remain in with a chance of finishing in the Premier League top four.

They are currently fourth, three points behind Chelsea and they will want their star man to be at his best.

For the majority of his career, the 37-year-old Ronaldo had the ability to inflict fear upon any opponent when he stood over a free kick.

After his knuckleball goal against Portsmouth in 2008 which left keeper David James rooted to the spot, Ronaldo's set piece expertise continued to blow the minds of opponents for the rest of his career.

Not anymore, according to stats.

Ronaldo has been unable to score from a free kick in 27 league games, meaning manager Ralf Rangnick may want to think twice about who the right man to beat Ederson in the Manchester Derby should be.

The United legend's last free kick in a league game was in July 2020 for Juventus - on derby day - in their game against Torino. This goal marked the one time Ronaldo has scored from a direct free kick in a hefty 79 attempts in league action.

However, it's not just Ronaldo who has been unable to score this kind of dead-ball effort in the Premier League for United.

Manchester United last netted from a free-kick in the 2019/20 season, courtesy of Bruno Fernandes, in their clash versus Bournemouth, showing the issue with free-kick taking runs deeper than just Ronaldo.

Should he be the man standing over the ball on Sunday, though, he has the opportunity to recreate his last Manchester derby moment from his previous tenure at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo scored his last free kick for United in 2009, taking the lead over their local rivals after his deflected free-kick wrong-footed City keeper Shay Given, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.

Although there is a great opportunity for nostalgia this weekend, given Ronaldo's record and United need to boost their top four chances, Rangnick may look elsewhere for a free kick taker.