Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has come under pressure after his side suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wolves on Monday.
The Red Devils looked weak defensively and aimless in attack, struggling to cope with the expansive 3-4-3 system that Bruno Lage's team play.
Phil Jones, returning to the Red Devils after 707 days on the sideline, was United’s star performer on the night, with those in the forward areas underperforming significantly.
Rangnick was praised for how he has previously had his teams well-drilled and pressed effectively to retrieve the ball deep into the oppositions half.
However, that was far from the truth earlier this week as United looked lacklustre when pushing up and forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani struggled to link up when in possession.
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Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes that Rangnick needs to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and stop playing the two strikers together.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Keown said: ”Rangnick will be wondering if it is feasible to continue using Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani as twin strikers.
“It feels as if he has been trying to accommodate both, but there aren’t many coaches who play with two upfront now. That’s a rarity in the modern game and this pair have a combined age of 70.
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“On either side of Ronaldo and Cavani, Rangnick has been using two young and exciting withdrawn wingers but they haven’t been effective enough with or without the ball. Sancho needs to be more direct, and so does Mason Greenwood.”
United have been playing a 4-2-2-2 of late, with Sancho and Greenwood playing as wide no.10’s rather than wingers, and Keown believes that Rangnick needs to drop the system and the partnership of Cavani and Ronaldo, which was heavily scrutinised and criticised during Solskjaer's tenure in the Old Trafford dugout.
He continued: “I prefer a front three. Ronaldo could act as the single striker for United — he made good runs against Wolves but was ignored by a midfield who rarely looked for the guy who has scored more than 800 goals in his career.
“Regardless of the formation, the players’ decision-making needs to improve, and so must Rangnick’s if United are to grab a Champions League spot.”
However, the decision could be taken out of Rangnick’s hands as Cavani has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona.
The Catalan giants have noticed that the Uruguayan has been playing second fiddle to Ronaldo since the latter arrived from Juventus over the summer and believe that he may be the man to lead their line in the short term.
It is no secret that Xavi is keen to bolster his options in the final third, acquiring the services of Ferran Torres from Manchester City in late December in a move worth £55m.
If Cavani was to leave the club, though Marca have reported that United are against the move, Rangnick already has other forward options in his ranks.
Marcus Rashford and Greenwood have both played as no.9s previously, and Sancho was also deployed as a striker on occasions during his time at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
It remains to be seen whether Rangnick takes on the advice of Keown or sticks to his guns and continues to hope that Cavani and Ronaldo can come up trumps as a pairing.
