Cristiano Ronaldo problem can be easily fixed and Michael Carrick has shown Manchester United how

Manchester United were in dire straits the last time they were gearing up to face the team sitting top of the Premier League, and as they prepare to meet table-toppers Manchester City on Sunday, things aren't looking much better now.

Rewind to last November.

Key figures in the Old Trafford boardroom had given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as much time as possible until he had to pay the price for the club's title aspirations being torn to shreds in the opening few months of the campaign.

Alarming defeats to Liverpool and City had put Solskjaer on very thin ice.

There were minor shoots of recovery against Tottenham and Atalanta, but a heavy reverse at Watford meant his position became untenable and United pressed forward into a new era.

Fast forward three months and they are in serious danger of failing to secure their revised target.

Arsenal are now in pole position to clinch a place in the top four, while Tottenham and West Ham represent additional threats. Yet the fight goes on.

There was a time when United could count on Cristiano Ronaldo to pull a rabbit out of a hat whenever they needed him. Things have changed a little since then.

Regardless of your position on his current form - and that is one issue for United - that 'plan' was never going to be sustainable. Others would need to step up to the plate.

An injury to Edinson Cavani has made that a difficult proposition for Ralf Rangnick.

After opting for his trademark 4-2-2-2 formation at the start of his tenure, the German appears to have settled on 4-3-3 and Ronaldo has had to be at the hub of that.

No matter how much he has achieved or still brings to the table, though, United simply cannot rely on Ronaldo and his current lack of goals. One in 10 since the turn of the year