Ronaldo and Cavani have proven they can play together and must start against Atalanta
Manchester United fans were gradually beginning to miss how it felt to win. After successive league defeats to Leicester City and Liverpool, it looked as if the Red Devils were headed for a patchy path.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side returned to winning ways last weekend when they thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 away from home.
It was an impressive result; one that was aided by a desperate tactical tweak from the Norwegian manager. Having not kept a clean sheet in all competitions since August, United reverted to a back-three to gain some solidity.
And the formation worked perfectly as goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford earned them a comfortable win against Spurs.
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United's 70-year-old strike force delivers against Spurs
Aside from Solskjaer’s change in formation, the decision to play Ronaldo and Cavani together also paid off. The duo are the most experienced in the squad but hadn’t played together before Saturday.
When they finally did, they reaffirmed their quality and showed through their performances that they deserve to be starting more matches together.
Cavani and Ronaldo have a good understanding of each other and that was demonstrated in the build-up to United’s second goal against Spurs.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner knew exactly where his strike partner was after receiving the ball from Bruno Fernandes. His one-touch passing put the Uruguayan through on goal as he gently lobbed the ball over the onrushing Hugo Lloris.
The combined age of Ronaldo and Cavani might be 70 but the two offer United so much in attack. There’s no reason why either of them must be dropped for Tuesday’s trip to Atalanta in the Champions League.
34+ - Cristiano Ronaldo setting up Edinson Cavani is the first time two players aged 34 and over have combined for a Premier League goal for Man Utd since Paul Scholes assisted Ryan Giggs vs Newcastle in August 2010. Feet. https://t.co/fgC9CrKgkL
Ronaldo and Cavani bring out the best in each other
Atalanta have proven to be a very tricky side and nearly caused an upset when they visited Old Trafford last month. One can expect the Serie A side to give it another try at home.
United’s advantage, though, is that they have better quality than Atalanta. Also, having an attacking duo of Ronaldo and Cavani makes the Red Devils more dangerous up front.
The two clearly bring out the best in each other and always keep opposition defenders occupied. Their presence up front also allowed Fernandes to operate freely and the No.18 enjoyed one of his best games of the season against Spurs last week.
"They're [Ronaldo and Cavani] fit lads and of course their experience came through," Solskjaer said of his strike duo after the Tottenham game, as quoted by Manutd.com.
"I thought both of them have led the line really well this week - all week from training Tuesday morning till tonight (Saturday) and that's something we might do later, something we might do the next game. It's something that worked tonight that’s for sure."
Indeed, the partnership between Ronaldo and Cavani worked against Spurs and there’s no need to change a winning team. Certainly not against Atalanta on Tuesday.