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27 June 2007, by Sean Gillen

Cristiano Ronaldo 2006/07 season review

Flying winger reaches new heights

If Cristiano Ronaldo’s career does, as many have predicted, see him cement his place amongst the game’s finest, there is little doubt that the 2006/07 season will be remembered as the year he made the transition from promising youngster into a truly world-class performer.

A stunning season with Manchester United saw Ronaldo win the English League title for the first time in his four years at Old Trafford, and that was followed by a host of individual awards and praise from all corners of the world.

There were some doubts ahead of the new season as to whether Ronaldo had a future in England, and it was left to manager Alex Ferguson to convince him to ignore a media backlash to his World Cup incident with Wayne Rooney and remain in Manchester.

Ro-Ro partnership

Ronaldo agreed to stay, and any suggestions that he and Rooney would not function together were dispelled on the opening day of the season, with both scoring and showing some excellent link-up play as United hammered Fulham 5-1 at home.

United soon found themselves on top of the Premiership, with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea leading the chase. Ronaldo, meanwhile, continued to enjoy a fine start to the season, contributing several good team performances, and grabbing a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Reading.

In the Champions League, United won their opening three group games. However, two away defeats to Celtic and Copenhagen meant they needed a home win over Benfica on the final matchday, with Ronaldo setting up a goal in a 3-1 victory to see them through.

Consistency

As the season reached the halfway point, several notable developments in Ronaldo’s game became apparent. Not only had his team play and goalscoring improved, it was also the first time the Portuguese had shown such a high level of consistency in the opening months of a season.

Ronaldo scored in games against Portsmouth, Bolton and Manchester City, picking up the Barclays Player of the Month for November, although United went into the hectic Christmas schedule with just a two-point lead at the top following a surprise defeat to West Ham.

It was during the festive period that Ronaldo exploded into sensational form, scoring twice in three consecutive games as United beat Aston Villa, Wigan and Reading, while champions Chelsea faltered.

Into the new year and United showed signs that they were genuinely capable of regaining the title, with a mid-January defeat to Arsenal proving a minor blip as the Red Devils won seven league games in a row and progressed into the last eight of both the Champions League and the FA Cup.

Crucial goal

During this run, Ronaldo provided perhaps the key moment in United’s season. With an ever-improving Chelsea breathing down their neck, the leaders looked set for a damaging 1-1 draw at Fulham, until Ronaldo scored a superb late individual winner.

Ronaldo then played a starring role in United’s most impressive team performance of the campaign, scoring twice to help his side demolish Roma 7-1 and book their place in the Champions League semi-finals, although Milan proved too strong for the Reds in the last four.

Despite the team showing signs of running out of steam in the final weeks of the season, a crucial comeback from 2-0 down to beat Everton and a win in the Manchester derby, thanks to a Ronaldo penalty, would prove too much for an equally fatigued Chelsea to match.

Having already secured a place in the FA Cup final, United were crowned champions with two league games remaining, and a disappointing 1-0 extra time defeat in the Wembley showpiece could not take the gloss off a fantastic season for both the club and their Portuguese jewel.

                         Season stats - Cristiano Ronaldo

                        Substitute appearances in brackets