Varun Pai
Team News: Ralf Rangnick claims he sees no reason to drop Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo for Wolves tie
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Ralf Rangnick claimed that he has no intentions of dropping Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo for the game against Wolves.
The Red Devils ended 2021 on a good note with a 3-1 victory against Burnley at Old Trafford. The start of 2022 will see us play at the same venue but against a tricky Wolves side. The Midlands club has not played a game since the 19th of December and could be fresher than most opponents.
However, one man that has always kept our performance levels high and has been continuously demanding is Cristiano Ronaldo. The 36-year-old is still hungry to win and score goals. He also played his part in the win against Burnley and would be hoping to do so on Monday too.
Rangnick claimed in his pre-match press conference that he has no intentions of dropping the Portuguese international despite him starting against Newcastle United and the Clarets last week.
“Today, I did not see any reason why he should not be able to play another game. Physically, he seems to be fit. He is doing everything; he is a top professional, looks after himself, looks after his body, he eats the right things.
“At the age of 36, I have never seen a player of this age, maybe Ibrahimovic is a little bit older, but he is a different kind of player. But I do not see why he should not be able to play three games in eight days. If at one stage, he needs to rest it is no problem, but it’s even more important to have Edinson in the squad.”
Always play your best players
One of the things that makes the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp great managers is that they majorly opt to play their best players whenever they can. The great players are the ones that can turn a half-chance into a goal and turn one point into three. Ronaldo is no different, evidenced by his 14 goals and 3 assists in 21 appearances across all competitions this season.
The veteran has already scored a couple of match-winners for us this season. He has been our talisman at a time when other centre-forwards were struggling to find their shooting boots. The Portuguese ace was also the difference-maker against Norwich last month when he won a penalty and slotted it home to pick up a victory on a day when his teammates were rather lacklustre.
The centre-forward has been dropped to the bench on multiple occasions this season and neither game has ended in a victory for us. In fact, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer dropped him for the 1-1 draw against Everton in October, it did not go down well with several supporters. There was also a video later where Sir Alex Ferguson was caught saying ‘you always play your best players.’
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Rangnick has been in the game for quite a while to understand the logic behind playing stars like Ronaldo. The German boss would also be aware that Arsenal lost their game on the weekend, and winning against Wolves could help us make some ground on the Top 4 race. Hopefully, our main man is the difference-maker again.
He proved that at Sporting, Real Madrid, Juventus, and of course, under Sir Alex when he made himself a household name across the globe. 12 years later, he may not be the winger he once was, but his role as a centre-forward still continues to offer no respite to opposition defenders.
