Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo caught West Ham by surprise at the weekend.
Whilst Ronaldo has generally operated as a striker playing off the last defender, he dropped into a deeper role in the closing stages at Old Trafford.
An analyst from the opposing side was overhead saying in the second half: “Ronaldo in that pocket is killing us again” as Ralf Rangnick’s unexpected tweak paid off.
And whilst Ronaldo has made his living as a prolific goalscorer, the temporary success of a new role could give Rangnick food for thought.
Whilst it is unlikely to be something that United turn to regularly, the fact Ronaldo showed he can be effective whilst dropping behind the front line is something that could give Rangnick some new options moving forwards.
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It was Ronaldo’s movement into a deep pocket of space, drawing in two defenders, that held free up room for Anthony Martial to feed Edinson Cavani to set up United’s winner.
With a host of attacking options - many of whom possess the pace to play off the last defender - the attention Ronaldo’s presence inevitably attracts could be used in different ways.
Here’s a look at three options which could now be opened up to Ralf Rangnick playing Ronaldo in a new role in different scenarios.
Option 1
Manchester United finished the weekend’s game with four attackers on the field.
Ronaldo dropping deep saw Edinson Cavani leading the line with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial joining him in the front-three.
Ronaldo’s withdrawal gave them more space and evidently paid off with the goal.
Ronaldo and Cavani’s partnership has been hit and miss but dropping Ronaldo deeper to get on the ball and impact defenders could be a way to make it work.
The flip side is the impact on Bruno Fernandes, who would presumably need to drop deeper and be more disciplined in a defensive sense.
But when chasing a goal, as United were at the weekend, putting all four attackers on the pitch as well as Fernandes will be hard to stop.
Option 2
One issue United have faced with various attackers is just where do they play?
The likes of Rashford, Martial and Mason Greenwood have all played out wide and through the middle.
In reality, they struggle to lead the line as lone strikers but are perhaps not out and out wide players either.
Given the space Ronaldo’s new role created, that could be an option to explore.
Rangnick has been a fan of the 4-2-2-2 system, but the two in behind have often been either two wingers such as Greenwood and Sancho.
Ronaldo could, theoretically, drop a little bit deeper with Fernandes and allow Cavani to lead the line and play off the last defender with Rashford, Martial or Greenwood in support.
Width may be an issue, but in some games that might not be the biggest problem given the attacking capabilities of full-backs Diogo Dalot and Alex Telles.
Option 3
It could be possible to get Ronaldo more involved by playing deeper whilst also maintaining attacking width.
By the time that happened at the weekend, Anthony Elanga had been withdrawn.
But the youngster has caught the eye out wide and could play on the opposite flank to Marcus Rashford in a formation more similar to 4-4-2.
Whilst Ronaldo and Cavani have played together before, Cavani’s movement off the last defender with Ronaldo hovering in behind may be a system which Rangnick can make work in some scenarios.
