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Man United Legend Gary Neville Breaks Down Cristiano Ronaldo 'Problem' That Has NOT Changed In 15 Years

Man United Legend Gary Neville Breaks Down Cristiano Ronaldo 'Problem' That Has NOT Changed In 15 Years

Gary Neville believes that Manchester United have adopted a counter-attacking style, with Cristiano Ronaldo not pressing while up front.

Gary Neville has insisted that Manchester United will not become a pressing team with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the frontline.

Ronaldo made his sensational return to Old Trafford in the summer and remained in superb goalscoring form for both club and country.

The 36-year-old Portuguese superstar has made six appearances for United in his second spell and scored five times across all competitions.

Ronaldo has provided Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with additional goalscoring firepower, but Neville believes the United manager does face a “problem” with his return.

Neville, who played alongside Ronaldo at United, said that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner brings both “positives” and “problems” to a team.

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PA

The Sky Sports pundit claimed that Ronaldo was not pressing during his first spell at the Red Devils, adding that United’s style is that of a counter-attacking team.

Speaking on the latest edition of Sky’s The Overlap series, Neville said: “With it comes big positives, but with it also comes problems. Ronaldo had to be managed shall we say...

“In the 2008 Barcelona semi-final away from home, Cristiano Ronaldo was shoved up front on his own, and [Wayne] Rooney and Ji-sung Park were shoved wide, and [Carlos] Tevez was brought back to [mark] [Sergio] Busquets.

“You couldn't carry him in the big games because he generally doesn't work hard enough.

“So he's playing up front now -- you're never going to press from the front. So, the idea that Manchester United can become a pressing team with Cristiano up front is never going to happen. He wasn't pressing 10-15 years ago.

“So what you say then is, 'What's the style of Manchester United?' Well, they're a counter-attack team.

PA

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“That becomes difficult when you're playing against teams that are inferior to you most of the time. So what you get is teams like Aston Villa and Everton counter-attacking.

“A half-decent team against Manchester United will cut through them. That's a problem, they've got to stop that.”

Ronaldo scored in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Qatar before picking up a hat-trick in his side’s 5-0 thrashing of Luxembourg in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

Portugal head coach Fernando Santos has criticised United manager Solskjaer over his handling of Ronaldo’s playing time at club level.

Featured Image Credit: PA/The Overlap

Topics: Gary Neville, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football