Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer maintains that is entirely possible to drop Cristiano Ronaldo from his lineup. Yes, you heard that right, as the Norwegian makes it clear that the Portugese’ playing time will have to be managed properly.
“It’s not impossible to leave him out,” Solskjaer said to the press ahead of the UCL opener versus Young Boys, regarding CR7, who scored twice in his United re-debut on Saturday. “He is 36. Mason [Greenwood] is 19 so it’s the same, I have to manage his minutes and I have to manage a 36-year-old’s minutes as well.
Ready for our first #UCL away day of the season! ??#MUFC pic.twitter.com/LsfDSBNxGE
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 13, 2021
Manchester United at Young Boys FYIs
Kickoff: Tues Sept 14, 5:45 BST, Stade de Suise
United Team News: go here
Ronaldo Impact on Winning Trophies Analysis: go here
TV/Streaming: BT Sport 2, Paramount +
Series History: United have won both of the previous meetings
“The other thing with Cristiano is that he looks after himself so much so I know he will recover quickly. Of course, it’s important that we get everyone up and running and to get him up and running.”
Obviously, Ronaldo won’t be a part of any EFL Cup competition, and his role in the FA Cup tournament is up in the air too. Ronaldo is in the squad for tomorrow night, so we’re predicting he starts.
Here’s the rest of our predicted team.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction at Young Boys
De Gea; Shaw, Maguire, Varane, Wan-Bissaka; Fred, Pogba, Fernandes; Greenwood, Ronaldo, Sancho
Prediction: United 3, Young Boys 0
The Red Devils have gotten this season off to a pretty special start- expect them to keep it rolling here tomorrow night.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.