Yeah. Basically, this. He tries hard all game to make himself available to create passing chances, but the same thing happens as it did in Juventus. For some reason, no one sees or makes the move to get the ball to him. I can't tell if it's lack of confidence to put a through ball, or if something else. In Madrid, they'd actually put some of those possible through balls to him, not all of them, but he'd be actively seeked when making a move. Mind you, I go against the flow on this one, but I don't think Madrid actually played for him, they played as a team and there were a lot of scorers throughout the season in the squad, and most of the 10 years he was there, there was usually another forward sitting at 20-30 goals by the end of the season alongside his 50 goals a season. But they knew how to play alongside each other *so well*, and knew when a Ronaldo move should be corresponded with service to him. United attack seems to be lacking creativity, seems to have a fear to put a bad pass in (except Bruno), and resort to sideways passing which doesn't move the attacking play forward, there's barely anyone moving in between lines or making runs except Ronaldo/Cavani, there's no flow, everyone is static. I think the biggest problem right now is psychological, team seems destroyed in confidence.
He didn't have a good game anyway, I'm not excusing that, but the problems in the team are deep.
The two chances Cavani got yesterday are actually what I want from United when it comes to servicing their forwards. At certain points throughout the game, you have movements they make that are worth waiting for and executing specifically towards them. There's a myriad of goals Ronaldo scored in Madrid where just like Cavani yesterday, at the last moment he'd drop back 2 meters from the defender's line, ditch them, and get serviced with an in-line pass or slightly angled backwards pass for a goal around the penalty spot area. There's dozens of goals he scored like that in Madrid, and Vasquez, Bale, Marcelo, Di maria, whoever, were good enough to know there's a good chance Ronaldo sets himself free, and that's when I should pass the ball to him, and it's worth watching him closely and waiting for the right moment.
So when Cavani made 2 similar moves yesterday and got serviced by Dalot, which waited, put his head up, saw the movement, and serviced Cavani, I thought, yes, we cannot play the entire game thinking only of the 2 strikers, but on these moments yeah, it's exactly what I wanted to see, a focus on their movement and ability to put a nice ball to them on said movements. Similar situation to when Rashford waited and waited for the Ronaldo movement in the box against Arsenal, and when Ronnis set himself free, Rashford immediately put a pass which resulted in a goal. If we have 2 strikers, and apparently they are pretty freaking good for a striker, and they make 50 movements all game, and we pass without looking, or don't even try to take advantage of those moves at least sometimes, it's a waste.
To end my thoughts, I liked seeing Cavani/Ronnie together once again. They seem to work wonderfully even in games where they don't link up. The 2 chances Cavani gets, one ends up in a goal, Ronaldo drags the 2 central defenders along with him, because that's just the fear he creates in opposition defences. Cavani then is free of marking. It's just with Cavani, he is a wonderful striker, and can just read the game as a striker in a way Rashie/Greenwood don't seem able to for now, and can see the defenders getting dragged along, and knows how to take advantage, and creates the right movement to receive a shooting opportunity from a teammate.
I'd like to see both of them start together next game. They can create space for each other in shooting positions in a way no other United pair of players can.
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