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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Elliott Jackson

How Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez stats for Manchester United compare to Liverpool front three

Manchester United have boasted some incredible attacking talent in their Premier League history.

From Eric Cantona to David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, United have never been short of firepower at the top end of the field.

Wayne Rooney 's retirement last week brought an end to his glittering career, which saw him become United and England's record goal-scorer.

Arguably, Rooney formed part of one of United's great attacking line-ups under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2007 and 2008, which saw the club win the title on both occasions.

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Carlos Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo were a front three feared by all and the departure of Tevez and Ronaldo in 2009 saw Chelsea end United's three-year title dominance, albeit for just one year.

It's without doubt United boasted one of the best-attacking units in Premier League history but how do their numbers rank against the rest?

During the 2007/08 season, where Ronaldo netted 31 Premier League goals, the front three combined for 57 goals, an average of one goal per 134 minutes.

Manchester United's front three compared against their rivals. (Sky Sports.)

Since 2004, no attacking trio can match United's minutes per goal record, although Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane managed to score 57 goals in 2017/18 but with average one goal per 139 minutes on the field of play.

United's front three's numbers did drop off the following campaign, with Dimitar Berbatov also brought in to share the load. Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez managed 35 goals the following campaign, at an average of 196 minutes per strike.

Manchester City's forward line of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane never hit the heights set by United's trio. Pep Guardiola's forward line produced their best numbers in 2017/18, scoring 49, at an average of a goal every 143 minutes.

Chelsea's trio of Arjen Robben, Didier Drogba and Damien Duff produced the worst numbers of all four trios despite winning the Premier League under Jose Mourinho.

The Chelsea attack scored 46 goals in two seasons, 11 fewer than United's 07/08 tally, with an average goal-to-minute ratio of over 200.

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