Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United was met with a mixed response in the summer, and that scepticism has continued for much of the season so far. There are plenty who see the 37-year-old as a hindrance to United’s attack, unable to influence games in the same way he did during his peak years.
For this reason, those same critics would have preferred that the club utilised the money spent to secure the services of a younger attacking prospect in the summer instead.
The reality though was that the right candidate, for whatever reason, wasn’t identified, and those in support of Ronaldo would point to his record in terms of goals this season as a fair justification for why the Red Devils took up the opportunity to bring him back at the start of the campaign.
Ronaldo was the hero again on Saturday when he scored a hat-trick to help pull his United teammates through another flat display to beat Norwich City 3-2 at Old Trafford. He was unavailable for Tuesday’s trip to Anfield, understandably granted compassionate leave following the tragic death of his newborn son.
The hopeless nature of United’s attacking performance against Liverpool without Ronaldo did go some way to vindicating those who continue to defend the Portuguese superstar.
With Ronaldo unavailable, Ralf Rangnick moved away from the 4-2-3-1 that he has utilised for much of his time at United and instead set the team up in a 3-4-2-1, though the same often looked much more like a back five than back three.
United were second best throughout, meaning attacking opportunities were few and far between for Marcus Rashford who led the line in Ronaldo’s place. Yet in those rare moments when United did break out, Rashford offered little for United to build upon.
He finished the game having attempted just one shot and no dribbles while registering the most miscontrolled passes (four) and having been dispossessed (three) more than any other United player.
A big moment for Rashford came in the first half when United finally managed to beat Liverpool’s offside trap and Rashford had the opportunity to go one against one with Alisson, however, he failed to control the lofted pass, letting Liverpool off the hook and squandering a big moment for United to get a foothold back in the game.
Although we can’t say for sure whether Ronaldo would have converted that chance, plus any others United managed to muster on the night, his clinical prowess in front of goal would have at least made him more fancied to do so.
It’s obviously far from ideal for a club the size of United to be relying on a 37-year-old to lead their attack, but Tuesday night was a reminder as to why they do and a glimpse into the team without him.
Right now, he’s United’s most important forward and will therefore remain one of the first names on the team sheet until the club bring in better options which many fans will hope will be in this summer.
