Manchester United News: The Reds brought in a horde of stars during the summer transfer window to bolster their squad. One of the major arrivals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, was Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.
The French defender is one of the best going around, and given his age can continue to play for a long time. He is a calming figure in defence, and his successes over the years have fine-tuned him exceptionally.
However the 28-year old has had a tough season so far for Manchester United. Raphael Varane has struggled with injuries ever since joining the club and hasn’t received a proper run in as yet.
He has suffered Covid-19, a groin and a hamstring injury which has kept him out of action for several weeks during the course of the season. So far, he has only made 17 appearances in the Premier League and 4 more in the Champions League.
Manchester United News: Raphael Varane is yet to hit his straps at new club after his £34 million transfer this summer
The injuries seemed recurring and it was due to him being rushed onto the park before hitting 100 per cent under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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Rangnick has taken a different approach with Varane. He has given his star defender time off and has slowly brought him back into action. Speaking in his press conference before the Atletico Madrid match, he aimed a subtle dig at his predecessor.
Rangnick faulted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for not giving Varane enough time to fully recover before recalling him onto the pitch. It was a valid suggestion, as his technique of taking it slow with Varane has worked well so far for Manchester United.
“As I said, it’s good to have Raphaël [Varane] fully fit again. We looked after him and he looked after himself, not playing too early again. Now he seems to be fit on a regular basis.”
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“He’s [Varane] very important but with Victor Lindelöf we have also won quite a few games and played well and had a few clean sheets. Right now, we have top players in the centre of defense. It will not be so easy for me to take that decision for tomorrow.”
Ralf Rangnick faces a stern challenge in the Champions League
Ralf Rangnick has had a tough time taking over the remains of the club from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The German has done a fairly decent job so far and has an important Champions league encounter ahead of him.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning hattrick to see Manchester uNited claim a 3-2 victory over Tottenham in the league. The Reds will need to keep up the winning momentum for their crunch European game this week.
Once again the onus will be on Cristiano Ronaldo to lead the attack and conjure up a magical European night at the Theatre of Dreams. Manchester United is level with Atletico Madrid at 1-1 after the first leg’s stalemate in Spain.
