Luke Chadwick fears that the decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench for the draw with Chelsea may be the start of a trend under Ralf Rangnick.
The 36-year-old opened the scoring a matter of days earlier when his deft chip gave Manchester United the lead in the must-win Champions League clash with Villarreal.
Caretaker manager Michael Carrick opted for a defensive midfield trio and deployed Bruno Fernandes in a false nine role behind Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, resigning the five-time Ballon d'Or winner to a spot on the bench.
Sancho pounced on Jorginho's mishap to score, but the Chelsea-man atoned for his error and levelled from 12-yards. Ronaldo played 26 minutes, coming off the bench to replace Sancho.
His introduction back into the fold at Old Trafford has paid dividends at key moments following his return in the summer.
A brace on his second debut was followed by match-winning goals against Atalanta and Villarreal before a point-saving volley in Bergamo kept United's European hopes burning bright..
The decision to leave him on the bench was one that attracted plenty of controversy — with Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher entering a heated debate after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge — with Ronaldo's role continuing to come under scrutiny.
"It’s been so well documented that with Cristiano Ronaldo in the team United can’t really play with that high-pressing style,” Chadwick told Caught Offside as he outlined potential concerns for the Portugal star.
"It’ll be interesting to see what the ins and outs are and if he’ll give opportunities to others.
“I think that’s the question everyone’s asking with Ronaldo. Obviously, he didn’t start the game against Chelsea, but he’s going to want to play in every game, he’s still hungry to score goals. He won’t be happy with the bit-part role.
With Rangnick now confirmed as the interim manager until the end of the season after days of speculation, the former United man added on Ronaldo: “I was surprised he didn’t start against Chelsea because it’s a massive game. You see Cristiano on the bench and you wonder if that’s come from the new manager.
"If that is the case you can’t imagine he’s going to stick around long, because he is coming towards the end of his career and he’s going to want to start as many games as he possibly can to carry on breaking records.
“The team is more important than any individual, regardless of who that individual is. Ronaldo offers so much to any football club, and his scoring record this season has been very good to be fair on him.
"Obviously the team’s got to find a way to win, but I’d be surprised with the new manager coming in, when you’ve got someone like Ronaldo in your squad, you would imagine there’s got to be a role for him moving forward.
"Still it does raise question marks that he didn’t start the game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.”
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