Solskjaer urged to make three changes to Man United XI in order to help Cristiano Ronaldo

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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been advised to change his starting line up around after the team’s poor recent form, including the humiliating 5-0 defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday.

The Red Devils are at their lowest point of the Solskjaer era, and former Man Utd midfielder Luke Chadwick admits the line up needs re-thinking in order to get the best out of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo has started brightly at United, but the team as a whole hasn’t looked like a cohesive unit, and Chadwick thinks the inclusion of Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard on more of a regular basis could help out the Portuguese front-man.

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Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside after the defeat to Liverpool, Chadwick said: “My heart said we could get something out of the game, but my head doubted it. Liverpool weren’t even at their best but ran out 5-0 winners – it could’ve been even more embarrassing for the club!

“It’s a home game against fierce rivals and United will want to press high up the pitch, but unfortunately when you do that you can get caught. It ended up being so easy for Liverpool to play through.

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“Maybe they would’ve done well to start with a lower block and hit Liverpool on the break. Obviously the crowd would’ve wanted a bit more than that, but it didn’t work too well even against teams like Leicester and Atalanta, so it was always going to be dangerous against a team like Liverpool, who just cut through them like ice in the first half. Liverpool just looked like scoring a goal whenever they wanted. Once they took the lead the tension set in and it was just a difficult game all-round.”

Discussing how Solskjaer could change things, Chadwick named Sancho, Lingard and Donny van de Beek as the trio who should now get a run in the side.

“I thought Ole would make changes, I felt maybe Greenwood wouldn’t play. He’s good on the ball but out of possession he probably doesn’t do enough,” Chadwick said. “You do hope that Ole makes changes now. If he wants to play Ronaldo in the 9 then Lingard has to come in, Sancho has to come in.

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“They’re two players with incredible work rate in terms of the sprints they put in both in and out of possession. Maybe it’s time for Van de Beek … the manager has to make changes now and it’ll be interesting to see what he does at Tottenham.

“I think Greenwood is a goal-scorer isn’t he? He’s done a job out wide, but I think he was happiest before Ronaldo signed when he was the number 9. That’s where he wants to play, you can see from his body language out of possession that he doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to do that side of the game.

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“I think Sancho played in a high-pressing team at Borussia Dortmund, where they put a shift in, the front players work their socks off. I think that’s what United need at the moment. Sancho’s not been brilliant this season by any stretch of the imagination, but I think his work rate is up there with the best wide-players in the league.

“And when things are going badly, it’s hard work that will get you out of it. Even if we’re not creating enough, which United are not at the moment, you need your players to work hard and make you difficult to play against, at the moment it’s so easy to play through United. The most important thing now for Ole is to stop the rot and stop the goals going in, so I think they need to start the hardest working players.”

More Stories Cristiano Ronaldo Donny van de Beek Jadon Sancho Jesse Lingard Luke Chadwick Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Paul Pogba

4 Comments

  1. Am just tired of ole seriously. He chased Sancho for two years finally got him and start benching all in the name of he’s not ready.

    The same line up Atalanta shattered in first half at old Trafford he repeated against Liverpool what was he trying to do😳 non oh his bench players will go on the pitch and perform to their optimum because he’s not trusting them.
    Eric we know is a good defender , westham crying over lingard , vdb ohhh my God . In fact , who’s in that man u that is not a good player?
    This guy should know we are depressed by covid. He should not add to our stress

  2. I don’t really understand the kind of politics United board is playing, we all understood that ole cannot manage this great club, earlier the better…if not United will not qualify for next season Champions league, imagine all the players United has..but still this man don’t even know whom to play..

  3. Remember the Real Madrid days with Ronaldo in a 4-3-3 with Benzema in the middle and Bale on the other wing?

    You have Cavani to play the middle who ALWAYS runs his diagonals to keep defences nervous and provide passing options for the likes of Bruno and Pogba (who Ole benches all the time – no wonder he wants to leave.)

    You could have Sancho on the wing who serviced Haaland in Dortmund with some success (!) and after courting him for two years you finally get him……to sit on the bench.

    Then Ronaldo to round out the front three. Lead by 1-2 goals after 60 minutes and have an easier game to manage with a more predictable opponent desperate to score goals.

    Why a world-class club continues with a mid-table coach for this length of time is puzzling indeed.

    1. ole should be sacked because he is an average manager he will never do some thing good for the club,
      this club is big for him we need an experienced manager
      nevertheless he has run short of ideas
      imagine he is still learning his players for four seasons now.
      look at tuchel who came with his experience and took the champions league with the very players lampard had

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