Rangnick: Hopefully Ronaldo will play against Atlético, but it’s not just about him. It’s just the whole team that has to play

A crucial game coming up for Manchester United. If it wants to achieve any success in the Champions League after all these years, it must knock out the troublesome Atlético Madrid. Ralf Rangnick wants to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo, but at the same time it’s not just about him.

Ronaldo joined Manchester United in the summer to help the club return to its former glory. Although it’s not going well team-wise and the star Portuguese has often been criticised, no one can fault him on the points front.

He has netted 12 goals in the Premier League, making him the league’s second top scorer. In the Champions League, he hit six times and practically single-handedly shot his way out of the group.

Moreover, he tuned up for the rematch in the best possible way at the weekend, when he shot down Tottenham with a hat-trick. It was this performance that coach Ralf Rangnick returned to in his press conference.

“Ronald’s performance was good, I would say excellent. We hope to see that again against Atlético. But it’s not just about Cristiano, it’s about the whole team. In the first game in Madrid we saw how not to play and what not to do. It was a big topic for us in pre-match training,” Rangnick said.

Atlético is well known to relish solid defensive play. It doesn’t mind letting the opponent play, it waits for a breakout situation and strikes. Especially if he scores first, he plays very well. And Old Trafford are aware of that.

“Atlético don’t mind if the opponent has the ball. They’ve had less than 50% possession in the last few league games. We are aware of that. It’s important for us to score first and not get the first goal. We want to not concede a goal at all if possible, but most importantly not concede it first,” Rangnick revealed what his charges will focus on.

Manchester United and Atlético Madrid met for the first time in their history three weeks ago. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, so everything is open in the rematch at Old Trafford.

Source: UEFA