Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick shares details of his talks with forward Cristiano Ronaldo
Speaking after his side’s 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (h/t Express), Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick revealed details of the conversations he has had with forward Cristiano Ronaldo since his arrival.
Ronaldo was in top form at Old Trafford over the weekend, netting a hat-trick against Spurs and giving United a boost in the race for a top-four spot by the end of the season, given that Tottenham are also in content for a Champions League qualification spot.
Rangnick praised his Portuguese forward after the game, talking about what an important player he was and the kind of influence he has on the team. The German boss also urged other stars in the team to step up and be leaders, saying that Ronaldo himself could not do it all.
“Cristiano is an important player, of course. With his reputation and with the way he can still play, he has influence on the team for sure. But there are also other players in the team who have to take responsibility, who have to perform, who can be leaders of the team.”
The result puts United in fifth place, one point away from Arsenal in fourth place as we aim to play Champions League football next campaign. The Gunners, however, have three games in hand, and we need to keep up our form to make sure they do not increase the lead over us.
“He can be a leader”
In what was only Ronaldo’s second hat-trick of his Red Devils career, the Portugal skipper fired United twice in the opening 45 minutes of the game. Despite a late equaliser from Spurs, the forward headed home the winner minutes later to ensure his team got all three points at home.
Rangnick revealed that he had held conversations with the former Real Madrid star about his role in the team and said he urged the No. 7 to be one of the engines in the team, along with other players such as club captain Harry Maguire.
“He can be a leader with a performance like today. This is what I’ve been telling him since I arrived – that with a performance like today he can be one of the engines of the team. But we have quite a few other players who can do the same, including Fred, Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, whoever.”
After going through a poor run of form in recent weeks, the player silenced his critics in sensational style by scoring a hat-trick against a side that had recently built a winning run in the Premier League. Ronaldo had also scored a goal against Spurs in the previous league game when the two sides faced off last year.
With this, United completed the double over Tottenham and gained an advantage over their rivals in the race for the fourth spot. Although the Lilywhites have two games in hand over us, this win was crucial to ensure they do not leapfrog us in the coming weeks to steal the prospect of playing UCL football next season.
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Going up against Atletico Madrid next in the second leg of the Round of 16 in the Champions League tomorrow night, the Red Devils will hope that Ronaldo keeps up his form from the weekend and continues to dazzle against the Spanish side to progress to the quarterfinals of the European competition.
With the Champions League the only possible shot at winning a trophy, Ronaldo’s form and fitness will be a major factor in the matches going forward, considering he was almost single-handedly responsible for dragging us through to the knockout stages of the tournament.
