DBasia.news – Erik ten Hag, manager of Manchester United, responded to his decision to put Cristiano Ronaldo back on the bench when he met Leicester City. He feels, there is nothing to worry about because this is just the beginning of the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo again failed to be selected as the first 11 players when Manchester United beat Leicester City 1-0 in the 2022-2023 Premier League match, at the King Power Stadium, Friday (2/9) early morning WIB.
The Portuguese striker only entered in the 68th minute replacing the goalscorer, Jadon Sancho. After playing, Ronaldo failed to add to the advantage of the Red Devils.
It was the umpteenth time that Cristiano Ronaldo was only a substitute for Manchester United. He lost to compete with Anthony Elanga, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho.
Not surprisingly, there is an opinion that Ronaldo will find it difficult to penetrate the first team. Moreover, Manchester United is also the arrival of Antony who is ready to compete for a place in the attack sector.
In response, Ten Hag assessed that Ronaldo still had the opportunity to play from the early minutes. CR7 will not be an eternal reserve for the Red Devils.
“This is just the beginning of the season,” said Ten Hag in response to the decision to put Ronaldo on the bench.
“We have a squad that is more than just the starting XI. We put the team first. They are united and fight for each other.”
For Ten Hag, the most important thing was the performance of his team. “Now, we have to go further,” explained the Dutch manager.
Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire also experienced the same thing. Maguire was unable to compete with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez who became Ten Hag’s main choice as a doorstop.