Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United superstar, is looking for remedies to his goal drought and has reportedly urged Ralf Rangnick to switch to a two-man attack.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is hovering on the outskirts of United's games, with only a single touch in Atletico Madrid's box on Wednesday night. The cameras are still on him, but the image on TV is of a frustrated and increasingly enraged Ronaldo.
In Rangnick's 4-2-3-1, players like Anthony Elanga, Jadon Sancho, and Fred are finally starting to shine, but Ronaldo is becoming increasingly isolated. For the Portuguese, one goal in eight is a problem. According to the Athletic, Ronaldo was present in a meeting with Ralf Rangnick and other senior squad members to assess the team's plight after a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton earlier this month.
The 37-year-old Galactico was the most outspoken, suggesting a system adjustment to reactivate his goal-rush.
In a 3-0 win over Tottenham in October, United used a two-man attack for the first time. Both Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo began, and both scored to keep Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from being fired.
A few weeks later, Manchester City toyed with a United side led by Mason Greenwood and Ronaldo, and the system backfired. In his debut match, a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace, Rangnick chose Marcus Rashford to join Ronaldo in a 4-2-2-2 formation, and he experimented with Cavani and Greenwood in the same role until a setback to Wolves forced a return to 4-2-3-1 in January.
They've persisted with it since, but despite some encouraging indicators, Ronaldo remains a blunted weapon.
Rangnick's options are limited, whether a strike partner for Ronaldo is the answer or not. Cavani is out with a groyne injury, Greenwood has been sacked after his rape incident, and Rashford is in poor form.
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