Pep Guardiola has agreed with Ralf Rangnick over his Cristiano Ronaldo fears after his Manchester City side thrashed the German’s Manchester United on Sunday.
Ronaldo was absent from the derby after suffering a hip flexor injury in training and United were desperately poor without him, with Gary Neville going as far as to accuse them of giving up.
Without the Portuguese superstar, Rangnick deployed a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes occupying attacking positions.
Sancho scored United’s equaliser before the visitors were blown away by City and their attacking output was particularly poor in the second-half when they failed to have an attempt on goal.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Did Cristiano Ronaldo's absence benefit Manchester United in their defeat to Manchester City? Comment below.
Despite the Red Devils’ struggles in the derby, there have been questions over Ronaldo’s suitability for playing under Rangnick.
Rangnick is known as one of the architects of the modern pressing game, though Ronaldo appears unsuited to press from the front as is expected of a forward in that system.
United’s interim boss himself hinted at concerns over Ronaldo, including soon after he took on the job.
“It is not only the back four or the two sixes or the goalkeeper, the whole team has to defend in unison, together as a team,” Rangnick said in December.
“It is about taking next steps. It is easier to take those steps if you are winning games.
“It was the third consecutive win in this season and the second clean sheet. Those are the things we can build up upon.
“In defence, the full-backs, centre-backs and two sixes did extremely well. Now we have to try and raise the level we play against the ball up front.”
Rangnick has now received the, perhaps unwanted, backing of Guardiola with those concerns following United’s thrashing at City.
The Spaniard admitted his surprise at United’s approach to the game, hinting that Ronaldo’s absence made life easier for his opposite number.
“We didn’t know how they [United] were going to defend, they went 4-2-4 and without Ronaldo they were very aggressive,” he said.
“We struggled to deal with that. We had more possession and chanced in the second half, we played really well first half.
“It was so aggressive, the mentality for Ralf. Without Cristiano [Ronaldo] they can do it.”
Guardiola also revealed his belief that United’s struggles in the second period came as a result of their intense pressing before the break.
“Good win, good game, second half especially. The first half they [United] had more energy,” he added.
“Second half they struggled to press as a consequence of the first, there was only one rhythm we needed to do, we played down the left side a bit more and were better in the second half, more comfortable.”
Rangnick may get more opportunities to experiment without Ronaldo, with the German admitting after the defeat that he had no prediction for when the Portuguese star would return to fitness.
