‘When you put it like this’; Berbatov outlines major problem hampering Man Utd progress

Dimitar Berbatov believes a lack of goals and options up front are factors hindering the development of Manchester United this season.

The Red Devils faint hopes of a top-four finish all but ended with Saturday’s loss to Everton. The 1-0 Goodison Park reverse coupled with Tottenham’s 4-0 triumph over Aston Villa mean they are six points adrift of fourth-placed Spurs. There is still hope but, with matches against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea still to come, it is a tough ask.

It has been a tricky season for the Old Trafford outfit. The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to herald a new era.

But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer paid the price for a poor run of results and things have not been much better under Ralf Rangnick.

There has been a lack of consistency and former United striker Berbatov has now had his say on the matter. The Bulgarian feels a lack of firepower up front has been one of the problems.

“When you put it like this, I think it’s a bit short of options,” he told the club’s website. “Cristiano Ronaldo still can score goals and I’m pleased with everything he’s doing so far.

“Anthony Elanga is emerging on the scene and he’s a great talent. I hope Marcus Rashford can find his footing and get into the form we know he has. He can score goals and terrorise defences.

“I can agree we are not scoring enough goals to win the games.”

Manchester United qualified for this season’s elite club competition but were knocked out by Atletico Madrid at the last-16 stage. The aim is to get back into the Champions League but both Arsenal and West Ham are also above them in the standings.

They would need to put together a near flawless sequence of results over the remaining seven games to stand any chance. Berbatov knows it will be