Cristiano Ronaldo nonchalantly began his post-match interview on Wednesday night with a nod of acceptance and shrug of normality.
He was simply told by the interviewer “You’ve done it again.” Well, Ronaldo responded, “it is my job.”
The Portuguese superstar’s dramatic winner against Villarreal in the fifth minute of added time was his fifth goal in his fifth game back at United.
In truth, Ronaldo’s performance had been relatively anonymous prior to him delivering the game’s decisive moment.
This is not a surprise nor a criticism; he is now aged 36 and confines himself to the final third of the pitch, waiting to pounce on an opponent’s moment of vulnerability.
This was the deal that United knew they were getting: a player who would be almost a passenger out of possession and in defensive moments, but capable of delivering the game’s decisive moments.
Until now, Ronaldo has played as a central striker in United’s system; spearheading an attack flanked by Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba operating from deeper positions.
Despite Ronaldo’s goal return, United’s attacking shape has appeared disjointed - it was a move that forced Greenwood out of his central attacking role and limited the game-time of Edinson Cavani.
The Uruguayan striker put in a sterling display as a second-half substitute against Villarreal - despite missing a gilt-edged opportunity - due to his work rate, intensity, and quality.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now has a big decision to make: how can he bring Cavani into his side to play alongside Ronaldo, and also to allow Greenwood to operate more centrally.
The solution is relatively straightforward and uncontroversial - shift Ronaldo out of his central role and into a left-sided attacking position, allowing him to cut inside onto his left foot.
Such a setup would also be beneficial for Luke Shaw (or his deputy Alex Telles) as it would allow them to continue their attacking overlaps, which has been an increasingly important aspect of United’s attacking movement.
A left-sided role was Ronaldo’s preferred position at Juventus, which brought 101 goals across three full seasons in Turin.
Ronaldo outright said no to former Bianconeri coach Maurizio Sarri following a request from the Italian - who had made the trip to southern France to visit the player personally - to revert to a central striking position, ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.
That the Portuguese star adapted this request for Solskjaer is indicative of the strong relationship between the two, but it should not prove to be an impediment to the switch being reversed.
Last month, former Juve midfielder and Italy international Giancarlo Marocchi told Sky Sport Italia, as per Football Italia : “I noticed he played a centre forward (against Newcastle ), which is something he refused to do when he was at Juventus.”
Shifting Ronaldo left could potentially complicate Pogba’s tendency to occupy that area, and indeed would complicate the regularity of Marcus Rashford’s game-time upon his return to fitness.
Yet Ronaldo’s tendency to move into central positions and United’s need to rotate when the fixture list becomes congested later in the season should negate such concerns.
Finding the right system is a significant challenge for any coach but for Solskjaer, it is the question that may define United’s season and his long-term future in the Old Trafford dugout.
