Ngal’ayel Mukau implied that Cristiano Ronaldo may no longer be the star he once was during his post-match interview after DR Congo recorded a 1-1 draw against Portugal on Wednesday.
When Mukau was asked about Ronaldo, the 21-year-old midfielder from Lille bared that DR Congo didn’t need to devise a special game plan to slow down his 41-year-old counterpart, who is Portugal’s most accomplished soccer player with 143 goals in 229 caps.
“To be honest, not really, because we know he’s not the same as before. He’s a bit older now,” Mukau said of Ronaldo. “But still, he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game, so much respect to him.”
“When you get old like that, for sure you cannot do the same efforts that you can make. But still, I have too much respect for him. He’s one of the greatest players to play the game, so yeah,” he ended.
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Cristiano Ronaldo draws brutal verdict from Premier League legend after Portugal’s draw against DR Congo
Former Premier League star Thierry Henry accused Cristiano Ronaldo of being selfish during Portugal’s 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
Henry pointed out a key sequence in the 68th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo received a pass from Francisco Conceicao on the right flank. With the 41-year-old drawing Congolese defenders after getting the ball, Henry argued that Ronaldo, whose chip shot went wide right, should’ve laid the ball off to Bruno Fernandes, who was open after a late cut inside the box.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has been in this situation multiple times. If you make that run here, you make the defender take a decision to crash the six-yard box. But because he wants to score, he goes into the path of Bruno Fernandes. If he goes into that six-yard box, then it would have been a tap-in for Bruno Fernandes,” Henry detailed.
“One thing that’s important, people, please at home, the team needs to score. Not YOU needs to score,” he reiterated. “Because HE wants to score, he goes in the path of the back pass, you see both players, and it’s easier for you to defend. And that’s my thing: The team needs to score. Not you.”
Ronaldo had a game to forget, as he couldn’t make an impact in the final third and had zero defensive contributions, despite Portugal having 75% possession.
