Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has risked the anger of fans after revealing the reason behind Cristiano Ronaldo's non-involvement in Sunday's Manchester derby. The Portuguese superstar could only watch on as Man City put six goals past his side and, according to his manager, the decision to keep him on the bench was simply down to respect.
The hosts had a rather lightning start and were duly rewarded when Phil Foden swept home Bernardo Silva's cross after eight minutes. Erling Haaland then subsequently joined the party with a header from a corner 11 minutes before half-time before tapping home Man City's side from Kevin de Bruyne's perfect pass in the 37th minute. The Norwegian striker then turned provider and put the ball on the plate for Foden to get his second befoe the break.
Antony got his second Premier League in his second start to lighten the mood inside Old Trafford but both Foden and Haaland were able to score again to end the afternoon with respective hat-tricks. Substitute Anthony Martial was able to reduce the deficit three and make the scoreline more respectable by scoring twice following his introduction. One man who would have relished one such opportunity from the bench is Cristiano Ronaldo.
Having struggled to find his scoring boots in recent weeks, the Portuguese superstar was dropped from the starting line-up with Rashford prefered to lead the attack. After the disappointment in the first half, many expected the 37-year-old forward to be given a run in. However, United boss Erik ten Hag decided against featuring the player in the side, and has since revealed that his decision only boiled down to respect for the club's posterboy.
"I wouldn't bring him in because out of respect for Cristiano, for his big career," Ten Hag said.
"And the other thing was the advantage I could bring Anthony Martial, he needs the minutes but I don't want to point it out like that."
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the starting lineup in just one Premier League fixture since ten Hag took over the club this summer.
