Pep Guardiola has made Manchester United's next Marcus Rashford decision easy

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford sustained a muscle injury against Arsenal and he was unavailable for matches against Real Sociedad and FC Sheriff in the Europa League. Cristiano Ronaldo started both of those games in Rashford's absence.

Ronaldo is a five-time Ballon d'Or winner and he scored 24 goals last season — so he is not a bad replacement for Rashford. The 24-year-old was not named in the England squad last week due to injury and he will instead spend his international break in rehabilitation.

United are next in action against Manchester City on Sunday 2 October and the club are hopeful that Rashford will return from the sidelines in time to feature at the Etihad. United did not need Rashford for their Europa League matches, but they need him playing down the middle for the Manchester derby. Ronaldo, 37, is unable to provide what Rashford does when United don't have possession.

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Although Ronaldo is the game's all-time greatest goalscorer and he remains dangerous in the box, other aspects of his game have naturally diminished as he's got older and that means United are forced to compromise when he's leading the attack.

There can be no room for compromise against City — the tactical plan must be perfectly executed to get a result. Erik ten Hag has played Rashford at centre-forward this season and that decision has inspired improvement from all the starting attackers.

Ten Hag regularly started Rashford, Antony Martial and Jadon Sancho during the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia and the impressive fluidity of the front three was a glimpse into how the Dutchman eventually wants his United side to play.

The truth is that Ronaldo