Manchester United: 3 problems Ralf Rangnick would need to solve

Cristiano Ronaldo’s fit in his system

Cristiano Ronaldo completed a stunning return to Manchester United in the summer and since then, he has been great individually, scoring important goals on several occasions although the team’s results have not been up to the mark.

If Ralf Rangnick was to come in though, one would have to question Ronaldo’s fit in his style of football.

Rangnick’s Gegenpressing, a philosophy he played a big part in shaping, is all about pressing with intensity and winning the ball back from the opposition as quickly as possible.

Ronaldo on the other hand is not known for his pressing game and at 36 years of age, one has to wonder whether he could adapt to that style of football, even though the Portuguese superstar is still in phenomenal shape.

Thus, if Rangnick was to indeed arrive at Old Trafford as the club’s interim manager, it would be very interesting to see how he would fit Ronaldo into his plans and get the best out of him.

The right-back position

In Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side, who have made Gegenpressing popular in English football, we have seen how much of a part the full-backs play in the final third.

At Manchester United, Luke Shaw has shown last season that he can be very effective on the other end of the pitch, although his form has not been great this season.

On the other hand, the same cannot be said about Aaron Wan-Bissaka. He has been the regular right-back for Manchester United since he arrived back in the summer of 2019. Defensively, he is one of the best full-backs in the Premier League and maybe even in world football. But going forward, he does leave a lot to be desired.

Thus, that is another area that Rangnick might need to think about. Manchester United also do have Diogo Dalot capable of playing there.