Ralf Rangnick has confessed Cristiano Ronaldo "should score more goals" as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner endures his worst goal drought in more than a decade.
The Portugal skipper has now gone five games without finding the back of the net, marking his worst run of goalscoring form since 2010 when he had only been a Real Madrid player for one year.
His barren spell has coincided with another run of miserable form for United as a club, with the Red Devils languishing as low as sixth in the Premier League table and eliminated from the FA Cup after a shock home defeat by Middlesbrough.
Before a ball had been kicked this term, many fans and pundits alike tipped United for a title tilt given the stature of summer signings they had brought to Old Trafford.
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Instead, they are battling for fourth and have lost ground in their pursuit of Champions League qualification following their recent 1-1 draw away at bottom-placed Burnley.
Ronaldo was benched for the trip to Turf Moor before eventually being introduced just after the hour mark, though the former Juventus man struggled to make any kind of meaningful impact.
United's iconic No.7 actually sparked some unwanted headlines after he immediately made his way down the tunnel at full-time instead of applauding the efforts of the travelling United faithful.
After the game, many speculated the reasoning behind Ronaldo's struggles and if United's attack works more cohesively with him out of the picture.
However, interim boss Rangnick has since explained how he feels their must be a collective responsibility among United's attackers to put the ball in the net when the going gets tough.
"It's not only about Cristiano Ronaldo," the German claimed.
"He should score more goals, it's obvious, I think we are creating enough chances and and enough opportunities in the last couple of games but we just didn't score enough goals, but this is not only an issue with Cristiano, it's an issue with the other players, especially the offensive players.
"We don't score enough goals."
Rangnick doubled down that chance creation is not an issue for United's talented midfielders, but it is time to start converting them if the Red Devils are to stand any chance of a top-four finish.
"If you bear in mind how many chances we create, and this is also something that needs to get better in the next couple of weeks.
"At Burnley, in 70 of those 90 minutes, it was very, very, very close to the game plan we spoke before the game and now it's about rewarding ourselves and also getting the results we should deserve."
Arsenal's victory at Wolves on Thursday was another blow for United who are now behind the Gunners having played a game more.
