Former Manchester United midfielders Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves have agreed that Cristiano Ronaldo should stay in the front three when they travel to Everton on Sunday.
United managed to come from behind in the Europa League on Thursday night as they beat Omonia Nicosia 3-2 in Cyprus. After dominating possession in the opening half an hour, the Reds were left stunned as Karim Ansarifard gave the hosts the lead.
It was a lead that the Cypriot side would hold onto until half time. however the introduction of Marcus Rashford for Jadon Sancho at the break made the difference. United's in-form striker brought his team level less than 10 minutes after the interval, before fellow substitute Anthony Martial turned the game on its head a minute after coming on.
When Rashford added a second turning home a shot from Ronaldo the game seemed done and dusted, although Nikolas Panagiotou's smart finish made the final few moments nervy. Erik ten Hag's team eventually held on for all three points, which was vital if they want to finish top of the group after Real Sociedad extended their 100 per cent record.
Speaking post-match, Hargreaves told BT Sport that he would stick with the front three that ended the match in Cyprus for United's next match at Goodison Park. "The question is not who plays in the midfield, it depends on who plays in your front three, depending on what your front three are that will dictate who your midfield are," he explained.
"If you go for Martial, Rashford and Ronaldo then you need two defensive midfielders in there whether one is [Christian] Eriksen or Bruno [Fernandes]. Depending on who the front three are, you could play two number 10s.
"They should dominate the ball at Goodison because they’re better than Everton in possession, I think having Martial back gives them something different and I can see the front three who finished the game, I can see them starting the game it just depends on who plays."
In agreement with his former teammate, Scholes added: "I’ll go with that front three [Martial, Rashford, Ronaldo], at the minute I think they’ll be most dangerous. Ronaldo, Sunday could be a game for him, Martial and Rashford pick themselves after their performance tonight."
Source: m.allfootballapp.com