Ten Hag reveals why he didn’t bring Cristiano Ronaldo on against Manchester City and what’s going on with Casemiro

Manchester United were dealt a huge blow in their bid to get back to fighting for the Premier League title.

The Red Devils were swept aside by their neighbours Manchester City in a derby where Haaland took a step towards being the best striker in the world.

Meanwhile, the man who has been just that for the last 15 years, Cristiano Ronaldo, watched it all from the bench.

It was surprising to see an image of Cristiano on the substitutes’ bench, watching a United side humiliated 4-0 at half-time and then going 6-1 down in the second half.

Only a Martial brace in the closing stages made the scoreline more respectable.

After the game, Manchester United manager Ten Hag was asked why the Portuguese star did not get any playing time.

“I didn’t bring him on out of respect for his big career,” the Dutchman said at his post-match press conference.

“And the other thing, there was then the advantage I could bring Antony Martial on. He needs the minutes but I don’t want to point it out like that.”

The numbers don’t lie, because Cristiano Ronaldo has only played one full game this Premier League season.

In total he’s managed 207 minutes, which is a third of the total number of minutes he could have played in the Premier League.

The most striking thing is that the Portuguese forward has not scored a goal, something unheard of at this stage of the season.

What about Casemiro?

As for Casemiro, the Brazilian is still unable to force his way into the starting line-up. The former Real Madrid man came on in the second half but was unable to stem Manchester City‘s attacking onslaught.

“I’m sure he will be important for us, in the short term he will come into the team, but he has to come naturally,” added Ten Hag.

Both Casemiro and Cristiano Ronaldo will be important players for Brazil and Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar. However, neither are starters at their club with almost a month to go before the 2022 World Cup kicks off.

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