Manchester United former defender Gary Neville believes the team’s manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have a word with Cristiano Ronaldo after the striker decided to leave the pitch as soon the match ended in a draw against Everton on Saturday at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo was left frustrated as he didn’t start in the playing XI against the Toffees. The Portuguese striker was introduced after 10 minutes into the second half and he could not make an impact on the game.
Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his decision to not start with Ronaldo as he said it is imperative to manage the player’s workload.
Gary Neville said to Sky Sports, “I think he’ll have a word with Cristiano and say, ‘Look, come on. If we’re going to do that let’s do that on the training ground because ultimately, you doing that on the pitch does bring that extra pressure.’ He does have a massive reputation, I don’t think it will have helped Ole in that situation.”
On the other hand, Gabriel Agbonlahor feels the manager’s decision to not start with Ronaldo against Everton was a sackable offense. The former Aston Villa striker added that along with Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard should have also started in the first XI of the team.
“It was a sackable offense not to start Ronaldo from Solskjaer. You look at Manchester United, you’re playing Everton. Everton has been in good form this season. You need your strongest team to go out there and beat Everton.”
“You’ve got the international break now. It’s not as if they’ve got a game on Wednesday and Saturday, they’ve got the international break. Pogba should have started, Ronaldo should have started, Jesse Lingard should have even started.”
Ronaldo has made a positive impact on the team as he has already scored five goals in the six matches he has played since joining the club. But the Red Devils have managed to win only two out of their last six matches across all competitions and haven’t been at their best.
