Ralf Rangnick joked Manchester United should let Cristiano Ronaldo travel to Portugal more often after he scored a hat-trick against Tottenham.
Ronaldo, who missed the 4-1 defeat by City on Sunday, scored all three of their goals in the 3-2 win over Tottenham to elevate United back up to fourth in the Premier League table.
Rangnick was unaware Ronaldo had flown to Portugal after he was declared unavailable for the derby and the 37-year-old only completed two full training sessions before the Tottenham game.
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"We were just joking a little bit it maybe makes sense to send him to Portugal for three days, having not trained for two days, and have him back in training on Thursday," Rangnick said. "He performed at a similar kind of level in training on Thursday, that's why I decided after that training session, although he had been out for a week, to play him from the start. Maybe we have to do that for the rest of the season.
"He made a difference, for sure, with his three goals but not only because of the three goals, it was the best performance from him since I arrived, on and off the ball.
"The whole team showed exactly the kind of reaction we expected to show after the poor second-half at the Etihad. Coming back after two equalisers showed also the mentality of the team today."
Ronaldo's mobility has been an issue since the turn of the year, with a hip flexor injury sidelining him for the FA Cup and Premier League games against Aston Villa in January prior to his absence for the City match. The Portuguese worked selflessly against Tottenham as United recovered from conceding two equalisers to win through Ronaldo's 81st-minute header.
"Today he showed for sure he's physically capable to do that but we also have to admit it hasn't always been like that the past couple of weeks and months." Rangnick added. "Today, it was really important he showed exactly that, that he's in the physical shape for that kind of level and this is what we need for the next nine games in the Premier League but also on Tuesday against Atletico."
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