Erik ten Hag claims Cristiano Ronaldo was not brought on against Manchester City "out of respect."
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag raised eyebrows after the game when he admitted that leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench was motivated by respect.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has admitted that he did not bring Cristiano Ronaldo on during the Manchester derby "out of respect."
During United's 6-3 defeat at the Etihad, the 37-year-old was an unused substitute, with tv cameras frequently cutting to the striker to get a shot of him looking incredibly annoyed as Manchester City goals flew in. Despite a late brace from Anthony Martial that may have saved some blushes, hat-tricks from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden highlighted the gulf in quality between the two teams.
Ten Hag was asked after the game why he didn't bring in the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. His response was eye-opening, as the United manager admitted that he chose to keep Ronaldo on the team.
The Dutchman also mentioned where he thought his team went wrong, given that they were consistently second best to their 'noisy neighbors' throughout the game. Ten Hag stated to reporters: "We didn't defend on the front foot, so we let them play. We were not brave enough in possession, and we made technical errors. Mistakes, decisions. Then you get smacked."
Alongside Ronaldo on the bench for the majority of the game was the Portuguese's former Real Madrid team member Casemiro, who came on with 30 minutes left to play in place of Scott McTominay, who had a difficult afternoon up against Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva.
Casemiro's absence from the starting eleven sparked a few eyebrows, but Ten Hag has since explained his decision.
"We started winning the day we signed him," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said of the Brazilian. "The team was performing admirably. It's not for Casemiro, but for Scott McTominay. I am confident he will be valuable to us; in the short term, he will find his way into the team, but it must be organic."
United had a disastrous afternoon, with a series of questionable defensive decisions leading to their demise. Christian Eriksen was one of those, marking hat-trick hero Haaland from the corner where the striker scored his first goal.
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