‘You bring in someone great at attacking balls, but then never cross the ball. How can you expect them to produce the goods?’
Rio Ferdinand has suggested that Manchester United are repeating the same mistake they made with Radamel Falcao by how they are using Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani.
The Red Devils suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Wolves on Monday night, with João Moutinho scoring the game’s only goal in the 82nd minute to condemn United to their first loss under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
United managed just two shots on target in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford, with strikers Ronaldo and Cavani kept quiet as Jadon Sancho endured another difficult outing.
However, former United defender Ferdinand has claimed that Rangnick is not playing to the strengths of experienced duo – particularly focusing on the lack of width and crosses into the box.
The BT Sport pundit also made comparisons to the mistakes United made when Falcao arrived at Old Trafford a number of years ago.
🗣 Rio Ferdinand: “You've got to play to their strengths. It's like when we played [Radamel] Falcao years ago. You bring in someone great at attacking balls, but then never cross the ball. How can you expect them to produce the goods?” [@FIVEUK] https://t.co/PUC9AeonZP
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) January 4, 2022
Rio Ferdinand makes fair argument about Cavani and Ronaldo
Speaking on his Vibe With Five podcast, Ferdinand said: “It’s all going off. I can’t even sit here properly. Having to sit here and defend this team is killing me.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring for Manchester United, against Spurs, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October 2021. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)“My biggest gripe is that if you’ve got Cavani and Ronaldo in your team — two of probably the best attackers of the ball from wide areas — and you don’t play with any real width or any people that are capable of putting the ball in good areas — then it almost feels like a pointless task.
“You’ve got to play to their strengths. It’s like when we played [Radamel] Falcao years ago. You bring in someone great at attacking balls, but then never cross the ball. How can you expect them to produce the goods?”
‘Play with more with,’ pleads Ferdinand
“Cristiano Ronaldo can do things from other areas, so can Cavani,” Ferdinand added.
“But if two of their big strengths are from when they cross the ball, get the ball in the box.
“Play with a bit more width, maybe. If he plays this 4-2-2-2, it’s about full-backs providing the width then.”
Against Wolves, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka started off the game pressing high but such was the dominance of Wolves in midfield that both dropped back to pitch in as the game progressed. When they did get forward, very few first-time crosses went into the Wolves box.
Columbian striker Falcao made only 29 appearances for United, registering just four goals and five assists.
Related links:
- Radamel Falcao has his say on VAR and it’s not positive
- Paul Ince claims Rangnick was wrong to name Ronaldo captain for Wolves tie
- Gary Neville calls out Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes’ ‘whinging’ after Newcastle draw
