Conte: ‘Fingers crossed Ronaldo doesn’t play tonight’

Maybe he cannot score against Omonia (twice) or Newcastle, but Cristiano Ronaldo can certainly give a goal (or three) against Tottenham Hotspur. The Spurs are one of the most favorite ‘customers’ of the Portuguese. Ronaldo has scored 14 goals in 20 career matches against Tottenham, for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, while also adding a further five assists. With 19 goal contributions in 20 games against Spurs, Ronaldo needs to continue this impressive record for his own sake this week, if he is even selected. And he was on fire last season against them too. He scored one goal and assisted for another in a 3-0 away win, before scoring a het-trick in a 3-2 win at Old Trafford. And that is what Spurs boss Antonio Conte is afraid of.The last time Ronaldo faced Spurs 🐐 pic.twitter.com/V1DF5wADOF— RP 🐐 (@RonaIdoProp) October 19, 2022 Manchester coach Erik Ten Hag decided to start with Cristiano Ronaldo in attack in the last three games (both times Omonia and Newcastle), while he played almost the whole game against Everton (and even scored), since Martial was injured after only 27 minutes. And if you look at the stats, the Portuguese is worse this and the last season, but if ask Conte, you will get a different answer.“Last season he scored a hat-trick against us! And fingers crossed… We are talking about an amazing player, a top player, in my opinion, we are talking about a player that continues to make the difference for the team that he is playing for. Cristiano with Messi, they made the story of football in the last 10 years, in the last 15 years. I think every single word is not good enough to explain the greatness of these players. I have great admiration for Cristiano, for his professionalism, but I hope he will stay calm, not like last season, when he scored three goals. We lost 3-2, but we lost against him, not against United last season. I remember very well, because we played a very good game, and he solved the situation a lot” said Konte.A monster deal prepared for Conte – he will earn as much as GuardiolaBut the final decision about Ronaldo will be made by the head coach Erik Ten Hag, who is clearly waging between the Portuguese and Marcus Rashford. The decision will be made ahead of the game, but the Dutch tactician admitted that having available strikers, Ronaldo included, is a massive boost.”We had to deal with problems offensively from the start: Cristiano Ronaldo was unavailable, Anthony Martial was not on the pitch and didn’t play a full game until now. I’m sure when that is better, with two No.9s present and fit in a good, combative shape, the results from the team will improve. I think Rashy scored 5 goals out of 11, Antony wasn’t involved in the first three games but he has scored three in his first four league appearances. Jadon Sancho has scored three goals, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored two goals, Martial, don’t forget him: three goals. We have players who can be productive and as a matter of fact, it’s not a real concern” said Ten Hag.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 12TuesdayBrighton – Nottingham Forest 0-0Crystal Palace – Wolverhampton 2-1 (0-1)/Eze 47, Zaha 71 – Traore 30/Wednesday21:30: (2.85) Bournemouth (3.20) Southampton (2.81)21:30: (4.90) Brentford (3.60) Chelsea (1.79)21:30: (1.51) Liverpool (4.60) West Ham (7.50)21:30: (1.68) Newcastle (3.80) Everton (6.25)22:15: (2.55) Man.Utd. (3.40) Tottenham (3.00)Thursday21:30: (2.95) Fulham (3.25) Aston Villa (2.65)22:15: (2.45) Leicester (3.40) Leeds (3.15)Arsenal – Manchester City POSTPONED 

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