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Man Utd may have their first difficulty between Ralf Rangnick and Cristiano Ronaldo
MANCHESTER UNITED star Cristiano Ronaldo isn't expected to feature in Ralf Rangnick's second game in charge.
Rangnick reflects on first win as Man Utd manager
Manchester United appear to have left Cristiano Ronaldo behind for tonight’s Champions League clash with Young Boys. And that decision means the Portugal international won’t be able to extend his record over Lionel Messi in the tournament. Given the rivalry between the two players, Ralf Rangnick’s call could potentially upset the veteran.
Ronaldo has been outstanding in the Champions League this season.
The Portugal international scored on matchday one, despite the Red Devils slipping to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to tonight’s opponents Young Boys in Switzerland.
United looked set to draw with Villarreal in their following match after Alex Telles had drawn them level against the La Liga side.
Yet Ronaldo scored the winner in the dying stages before then doing the same against Atalanta in the next match.
The United star was also on target in the return fixture in Italy, helping the Red Devils to a 2-2 draw at a time where pressure was mounting on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
And Ronaldo struck in their last match in the competition against Villarreal, with United winning 2-0 in Spain.
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Now, however, he isn’t set to be involved in this evening’s contest with Young Boys.
The Manchester Evening News say the 36-year-old wasn’t spotted amongst the players who got off the coach at The Hyatt Hotel.
Therefore, Ronaldo is set to be deprived of the chance to make history.
If the forward had scored against Young Boys tonight, he’d have become the first player to score in all six Champions League matches on two separate occasions.
Given Ronaldo’s thirst to break records and make history, it’s possible he’ll be frustrated by Rangnick’s decision.
The United No 7 previously achieved the feat in 2017, accomplishing it with a 20-yard effort against Borussia Dortmund having previously scored against Tottenham and APOEL.
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By leaving Ronaldo on the bench, it also deprives the forward of the chance to extend his Champions League record over Lionel Messi.
He currently leads his Argentinean rival by 15 goals with 140 to his name.
However, Messi did close the gap with a brilliant brace for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League match with Young Boys on Tuesday night.
And Ronaldo, like many others, will undoubtedly be watching the match from home instead.
This, out of all the competitions he’s participated in throughout his career, is arguably the one that means the most.
Ronaldo first won the trophy in 2008, scoring in the final as United beat Chelsea in the final in Moscow.
The Portugal skipper then claimed another winners medal six years later, again finding the net as Real Madrid beat fierce rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1.
Ronaldo helped Los Blancos beat the same opposition in 2016, too.
And he won the Champions League in 2017 and 2018 with Real beating Juventus and Liverpool on their way to glory.
Rangnick, meanwhile, admitted on Tuesday that he wanted to use the match with Young Boys as a chance to get to know his players more.
It will be just the 63-year-old’s second match at the helm since replacing Solskjaer.
And Rangnick said: This is one issue: that I want to get to know the other players. The ones who haven't played against Crystal Palace.
“And it's also wise, at this stage of the season, with the crowded fixture list of the next few weeks and months, to rest a few players.
“Because, as we saw, the way that we played against Palace was high intensity.
“It's not so easy to play on that level with the same group of players every three days and therefore, for me, it absolutely makes sense to do some sort of rotation.
“Even more so in a game that we still want to win – that's our ethos: we want to win games at Manchester United – but it's not that much at stake for us, and therefore it makes sense to give some other players the chance to present themselves.”