Anthony Elanga position change could solve Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo problem

It hasn’t been a god start to 2022 for Cristiano Ronaldo, and even his staunchest defenders at Manchester United are starting to feel he might be more of a problem than a solution for the club right now.

Saturday against Watford was a microcosm of the difficulties the Portuguese ace has been facing – wasting a golden opportunity early on, letting that early miss frustrate him, and being regularly caught offside in his attempts to make amends.

The year has, so far, not been kind to Ronaldo.

Just one goal in 10 appearances since the turn of the year is not befitting of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, and given how reliant his game is on goals nowadays, that return points to a major problem for United.

The solution though is a difficult one to gauge. United are certainly creating enough opportunities – they lie only behind Liverpool when it comes to ‘big’ chances, having made 19 of them, but have converted just five. In contrast, Jurgen Klopp’s side have created 29 and scored 17.

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That leaves two possibilities then – either replace Ronaldo with an alternative, or give him a partner to work with, and United might already have the perfect foil.

Anthony Elanga was one of the few to emerge from the stalemate with Watford with some credit. While Nemanja Matic was most people’s man of the match, the 19-year-old gave United some impetus in attack that was noticeably lacking from some