Ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench out of respect
Erik ten Hag was left to explain Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence as Manchester United was embarrassed in a 6-3 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
In an act of respect for the striker, Erik ten Hag opted not to introduce Cristiano Ronaldo during course of the game. Despite deploying all five of his acristiano criscllotted substitutions, Ten Hag did not utilize Ronaldo as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hat tricks to lead City to a convincing derby victory.
After coming on in the second half, Anthony Martial scored twice to give Manchester United some pride. Victor Lindelof, Fred, Casemiro, and Luke Shaw also made appearances off the bench. Ronaldo has played a supporting role under Ten Hag after appearing to try to leave Old Trafford during the most recent transfer window. He has made just one Premier League start this season, United’s 4-0 loss to Brentford.
Ten Hag gave the following justification during the post-game press conference for not selecting the 37-year-old: “I wouldn’t bring him in out of respect for Cristiano, for his big career.
“The other thing was the advantage that I could bring on Anthony Martial. He needs the minutes, but I don’t want to point it out like that.”
This season, Ronaldo has made five substitute appearances in the Premier League without scoring a goal. In all competitions, Cristiano Ronaldo has only scored once this season—a penalty against Sheriff in their Europa League group-stage match.
