Dimitar Berbatov jumps to Cristiano Ronaldo's defence amid worrying form

Former Man Utd striker Dimitar Berbatov has jumped to the defence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been enduring a difficult spell in front of goal.

Criticism of Ronaldo has been mounting of late, with the Portuguese superstar having only scored one goal since the turn of the year.

But, Berbatov, who has previously played with Ronaldo at Man Utd, believes the Portuguese superstar should not be the only one to shoulder the blame, and has insisted standard at the club 'should be a lot higher than they are'. He also asked people to consider Ronaldo's how he plays, his position and how the team plays when they criticise him.

"When teams have a bad result the star players always end up with the blame, and at the minute with Manchester United, that’s Cristiano Ronaldo," Berbatov told Betfair.

"At the moment he’s got just one goal in ten games and that seems problematic for everybody, but not for me.

"There are eleven players on the pitch and the blame should be shared. Ronaldo is an icon in the world of football and people need to remember that he’s 37.

"So, from time to time he is allowed to have a couple of bad games. But I don’t think that is the problem here.

"Overall, as a team when they have a good game they have to follow that up.

"I think Ronaldo is doing enough for United, obviously people will look for more because of the standards that he sets.

"There will always be people questioning him when he has a bad match, and they are taking advantage of that now. People need to consider his age, how he plays, his position and how the team plays.

"People need to be realistic with him and they need to know that it’s totally different when you’re 37 to being 27.

"He is going to have moments when he needs his teammates to produce more for him, that’s normal in football. Ronaldo is a total professional and he will speak to the manager and he will want to produce more.

"Everybody in the United team needs to produce more, the standards should be a lot higher than they are.

"Ronaldo is also a realistic guy, he will know that his performances aren’t where he wants them to be, even though he’s older and his game is totally different, he sets very high standards. I don’t think that needs explaining to him.

"Everything that he has achieved in football isn’t because of luck, he knows what he is doing, and he will know that he will need to produce more at the moment and trust me, that will drive him forward.

"People need to get off his back and let him get on with it.”

Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who turned 37 in February 2022, drew blank against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League & Watford in the Premier League last week. But with Man Utd facing a tough run-in - they face Man City, Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool & Atletico Madrid in their next five games - they need the no.7 to start delivering again.