Ralf Rangnick pays price for Cristiano Ronaldo decision after Sir Alex Ferguson advice

Tuesday was another evening to forget for Manchester United this season, as they could only muster a 1-1 draw against struggling Burnley at Turf Moor.

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick made a huge call before the game, dropping Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting XI in favour of Edinson Cavani.

"Today will require a lot of sprinting, chasing balls and a lot of fight for second balls," the German coach told MUTV ahead of the game.

"I decided to start with Edi because he has the kind of profile that suits what we want."

And, for a while, it seemed like a wise decision. United did have more energy than usual in the first half, finding the back of the net three times in the opening 21 minutes.

Unfortunately for Rangnick, two of those goals were disallowed for fouls and his team ran out of steam shortly after the interval.

Burnley's new striker Wout Weghorst - playing alongside Jay Rodriguez - bullied United's defence and the pair combined brilliantly for the latter's equaliser.

Weghorst was unlucky not to get a goal of his own, forcing David de Gea into a brilliant save with a venomous long-range strike.

Rangnick was ultimately left to rue his decision to drop Ronaldo. He brought him on in the 68th minute - hoping he could salvage a victory - but it was too late.

The result has severely hampered United's top four hopes, as West Ham defeated Watford 1-0 at the London Stadium to jump back into the final Champions League spot.

Arsenal and Tottenham remain just three points behind the Red Devils. The Gunners have two games in hand on them, while Spurs have three.

It's not the first time Ronaldo has been dropped by United since his dramatic return to Manchester six months ago.

Back in October, Rangnick's predecessor Ole Gunnar