Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has revealed the reason for not bringing on Cristiano Ronaldo against Manchester City. The forward was an unused substitute in the big derby defeat.
However, the manager did not use him for a big reason. The answer of Erik Ten Hag has left many fans puzzled and concerned about the future of the legend.
MANCHESTER UNITED AGAINST CITY FULL POST-MATCH REPORT
Manchester United were destroyed by Manchester City in the derby. They were beaten by the scoreline of 6-3. The scoreline would be worse for the Red Devils. However, the City players fluffed some of their shots. However, this did not stop Erling Haaland and Phil Foden from getting hattricks in the game. Kevin De Bruyne was also brilliant in the game.
The only positive for United is Anthony Martial. He got a brace for Manchester United at the end of the game. This also helped the Red Devils get a respectful scoreline in the end. The Red Devils were so bad that half of their fans left the Etihad stadium early. However, that was not the biggest news in the match. The biggest was the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo from the bench for the whole game. However, Ten Hag has revealed the reasons behind the absence.
WHY WAS CRISTIANO RONALDO BROUGHT OFF THE BENCH AGAINST ARCH-RIVALS
The biggest controversy of the match was Cristiano Ronaldo not coming off the bench. The forward did not play despite the league allowing five substitutes this season. This led to a lot of people claiming that the forward had a fallout with Erik Ten Hag. However, Ten Hag has revealed the reason behind the move and cleared the confusion.
He said,
“I wouldn’t bring him in out of respect for Cristiano, for his big career,” Ten Hag also said.”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.”
Erik Ten Hag also said mentioned the lack of belief among the Manchester United players to win the derby game.
The defeat to Manchester City brought an end to their run of four straight wins. Manchester United will have to recover quickly from the loss. The league schedule is busy at the moment as the players will be also having the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year.
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