Dutch legend Danny Blind has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo is the cause of Manchester United’s recent struggles. Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in the summer and has already weighed in with five goals in seven games across all competitions and was on hand to score a last-minute winner against Villarreal.
While Ronaldo has been firing on all cylinders, United have lost against Young Boys and Aston Villa were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by West Ham and could only draw with Everton on Saturday, despite taking the lead.
Blind, who is the father of former United defender Daley, believes Ronaldo is actually the problem. He claimed the Portugal star ‘only thinks about goals’ and does not allow the team to play in their familiar style.
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He also compared the 36-year-old to Paul Pogba, who is more vocal on the pitch. ‘Ronaldo doesn’t really need to play an active role,’ he told Dutch paper Sportnieuws. ‘Like: “take your time”. You also see the other players looking at you like, “how are we going to solve it then?”
‘’Normally, the striker runs from one central defender to the other. This caused a lot of miscommunication. Now, they are not playing in their familiar pattern. ‘When the ball was deflected, you saw Paul Pogba coaching that they had to put all the pressure on.’’
Ronaldo did not do that, he is not like that. He only thinks about goals and hopes others will conquer the ball.’ Ronaldo was left on the bench for Saturday’s draw with Everton but was brought on in the 57th minute.
However, he was unable to make a significant impact as Andros Townsend cancelled out Anthony Martial’s opener, with the winger also copying Ronaldo’s famous celebration. [MSN]
