The Manchester United closed one of the best signings in its history: The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to what was his first home in the elite of European football. The Portuguese returns home to try to win a new UEFA Champions League for his showcases and raise up a club that, despite leaving certain traces of growth since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is still far from what it was at the time of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford will change many things within Solskjaer’s tactical approach because, beyond the fact that he can maintain the system, the Portuguese forces him to retouch several automatisms and behaviors to be able to show his best version, taking into account that his wear defensive is less than that of the rest of the pieces and it needs to have a certain supply to be able to make a difference within the area.
How will Manchester United play with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo?
-1-4-2-3-1 with Cristiano Ronaldo as center forward: The most coherent formation due to the need for the team to have an offensive reference and the one that would generate the least changes of pieces, the problem is that Cristiano Ronaldo does not have the speed to attack the back of the rival defense and that detail would subtract a little to the static attack of Manchester United.
-1-4-2-3-1 with Cristiano Ronaldo as left winger: Such a move would force Marcus Rashford to be placed as an offensive reference or to keep Edinson Cavani at that height, which will help him keep the threat behind the rival centrals and with a footballer who can move to free up space for unchecks in Portuguese break. The question is how the team will be organized without the ball so that Luka Shaw does not have to live facing a 2vs1 on the left wing.
-1-4-3-1-2 with Cristiano Ronaldo as center forward: A change of system that would give an aggressive change to the approach, but that would offer Solskjaer the possibility of betting on Paul Pogba at a height where he can be as decisive as in the first days of the Premier League (not as a midfielder in a double pivot) and place a companion who can compensate you. The doubt is that he would lose game on the sides, unless the wings are much more aggressive than before.
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