It was a tough day at the office for Manchester United on Sunday as they left Old Trafford with just one point, with Newcastle frustrating the Reds to claim a famous draw for the visitors.
United created a couple of half-chances and one or two big chances but overall, they rarely looked like hurting Newcastle. The draw means that United now trail fourth-placed Chelsea by three points.
Ahead of the game, it wasn’t clear how Ten Hag was going to choose his starting eleven. Marcus Rashford has impressed this season but he was not available to start due to an illness.
Anthony Martial seems to be Ten Hag’s preferred pick but the Frenchman has endured a nightmare start to the season due to injuries. That leaves Cristiano Ronaldo, who was given the nod as he started for just the second time in the league.
The 37-year-old did not, however, play the entire 20 minutes as Ten Hag withdrew him from the game with roughly 20 minutes to go – the Dutchman’s only substitution.
Speaking after the game, Ten Hag has explained why he decided to take Ronaldo off, arguing that United’s hectic fixture schedule was behind the decision.
“We have to cover four games in ten days,” Ten Hag said, according to The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell.
“I want to keep the strikers fresh. We have to rotate there. Rashy didn’t have energy for the whole game so we have to plan it.”
SN’s verdict…
Ronaldo might not be happy about it but the truth is that he simply does not do enough to warrant playing 90 minutes in every game. In some games, he’s better suited to be a second-half substitute.
In this game, with United chasing a goal, Ten Hag made the decision to take his most potent goal threat off and that’s something Ronaldo is going to have to get used to.
Clearly, the manager is not entirely sold on Ronaldo’s impact when he’s playing and the most important opinion is that of the man in charge.
