Failing to score within the first 10 minutes of a match is not usually a disaster for any striker, even one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s calibre, but in doing so at the start of Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion the Manchester United forward passed an unwanted personal milestone.
Going into the Brighton game, Ronaldo had not scored a goal in his previous 537 minutes of play (excluding stoppage time), one of the longest goal droughts of his club career since he ended his first spell at United in 2009 to join Real Madrid in a then-world record transfer for £80 million as one of the game’s elite forwards and holder of the Ballon d’Or.
Meanwhile Lionel Messi’s PSG beat Real Madrid on Tuesday by 1-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe goal in stoppage time.
