Ten Hag added that he also needed to give Anthony Martial, who recently returned from injury some minutes to get back to full fitness
By Kehinde Okeowo
Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag, has justified his decision to leave Portuguese star, Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench during his side’s 6-3 annihilation by local rivals, Manchester City on Sunday.
Ronaldo who was rumoured to have made moves to leave Old Trafford during the last transfer window did not play any part during the Red Devils’ tie against Man City at Etihad Stadium.
Erik ten Hag, rather than bring in the experienced Portugal captain, who was on the bench, opted to bring in French forward, Anthony Martial, to replace Marcus Rashford with 31 minutes left in the game.
Man City ran riot in the first half of the game, as both teams went into the dressing room with the hosts scoring four times.
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The Red Devils put up a better performance in the second half and scored three goals, but it was too little too late, as the encounter ended 6-3 in favour of the Citizens.
In form City striker Erling Haaland and his English teammate, Phil Foden both scored hat-tricks to give Pep Guardiola’s side the victory over their arch-rival in the derby.
Speaking on his decision not to play Ronaldo against Man City, Ten Hag said he did not want to feature the former Real Madrid star out of respect for his big career.
“I would not bring him in out of respect for Cristiano, for his big career,” Ten Hag said at his post-match press conference.
“And the other thing is there was the advantage I could bring Anthony Martial, he needs the minutes, but I don’t want to point it out like that.”
