FOR MANCHESTER CITY to be able to compete effectively with Manchester United, it is essential they curb the influence of Cristiano Ronaldo. “He has reached a level where you have to think about a plan to stop him, but it’s not easy to stop Ronaldo,” Dietmar Hamann acknowledged with a wry smile.

City’s German midfielder is not alone in this assessment. Steve Coppell, the Reading manager who once wore the No 7 shirt at Old Trafford, suggested stopping Ronaldo is “like trying to plait spaghetti”.

“Ronaldo came to United with raw talent and people talked about his ability to play the final ball and said he was rather superfluous and didn’t see anything. They don’t say that now,” said Martin O’Neill, the Aston Villa manager. “He’s not only a crowd-pleaser, he’s a brilliant player and they’re two different things. Great players combine both. It would be hard to stifle Ronaldo for 90 minutes and not give him a chance at goal or a chance to play the correct ball.”

The dexterity to play on either flank is one of Ronaldo’s most telling assets. Primarily, responsibility must fall on the full-back to engage him, to hold him up and allow a midfield player to drop back in support. The defender has to stay close to him throughout the game, for Ronaldo’s pace, power and skill can put him clear in an instant.

At 6ft 1in and upwards of 13st, he is also able to use his weight and imposing physique to beat opponents, and his ability to drive into the box and score with headers has contributed to his 27 goals this season. The full-back’s objective must be to push him wide and keep him on the outside whenever he attacks and, with the support of another player, they can at least try to prevent the cross. Allowing Ronaldo to get inside is tantamount to disaster.

“We will have to make sure we are tight and compact and we must help each other,” agreed Hamann, who will need to offer support to City’s full-backs today. “Ronaldo has become a joy to watch in the past couple of years. If you can stop him getting the ball he can’t do any damage. But they have so many players who can make things happen, so you can’t put two players on Ronaldo because that will leave another player exposed and he will do the damage.”

On top of everything else, Ronaldo has the ability to beat teams with a dead ball. He has worked and worked to perfect his technique and, even when he has a bad game, he can still be the deciding factor.