Gary Neville has admitted that he prefers seeing Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo playing in a front-two, opposed to being forced to spearhead the forward line on his own.
Neville made the admission ahead of United's clash with Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday evening, following interim manager Ralf Rangnick's decision to pair Marcus Rashford and Ronaldo up front alongside each other.
The duo started up front against Crystal Palace last weekend and were key in helping United sport their new-look 4-2-2-2 system, even though they both failed to get themselves on the scoresheet.
They were both key in the press that Rangnick had asked for and Ronaldo was not as exposed as he had been in recent matches, especially towards the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure.
However, now that the early signs suggest that Rangnick is going to play with two strikers alongside each other, Neville has welcomed the decision, insisting Ronaldo looks "much more comfortable" when having a strike partner alongside him.
"I have been saying for a couple of months that when [Edinson] Cavani was fit, I feel that they have to have a strike partner up front with him," Neville told Sky Sports.
"They had left him up front on his own and left him exposed when Manchester United were out-of-possession, but also when they were in possession.
"He is not the easiest player to hit. I think when you have someone up there with him it just takes the pressure off him in both sides of the game. He looked so much more comfortable last week and was contributing out-of-possession, as well as he does in the box, where he is the best finisher in the world."
Although the end of Solskjaer's tenure was disappointing, the 3-0 win over Tottenham - which was his final Premier League win in charge - saw Cavani and Ronaldo start up front alongside each other.
They complemented each other perfectly, with Cavani freeing up more space for Ronaldo to do what he does best, as well as the pair of them being able to latch onto one another's passes.
With Rangnick, in his opening two games, having paired Rashford and Ronaldo alongside each other, it suggests that it could help Ronaldo in the long run help him add more goals to his tally.
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