Cristiano Ronaldo stat reveals Manchester United forward is Europe's most decisive goalscorer

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most match-winning goals out of any player in the top five European leagues this season, it has been revealed.

The 37-year-old is ahead of the likes of Karim Benzema, Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi in terms of decisive strikes this term. His hat-trick in last weekend’s 3-2 win over Tottenham meant he had struck the winning goal in nine of Manchester United’s fixtures this term.

It saw him overtake Benzema, who has eight following his memorable treble in Real Madrid’s aggregate victory over PSG in the Champions League last week. Ronaldo was criticised after failing to muster a shot at goal against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as United exited Europe’s elite competition.

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He has been the subject of some harsh criticism this season, many blaming him for United’s lack of cohesion with the club having suffered a disappointing season. But maybe this stat shows that his influence on the team has been undervalued, with Ronaldo retaining the knack for scoring important goals.

This is especially highlighted given that PSG's Messi — who also moved to a new club, league and country in the summer — has only managed to net one match-winner all campaign. Manchester City-linked Erling Haaland has scored the same amount as Salah (seven) while Robert Lewandowski, who has scored an incredible 43 goals for Bayern Munich this season, has hit six.

Madrid’s rising star Vinicius Junior has netted five match-winners while Harry Kane comes in with three. Ronaldo is United’s top goalscorer by some distance having netted 18 this season, nine more than second-placed Bruno Fernandes.

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