Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has no regrets over benching Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo was introduced in the match but he couldn’t find a winner in their 1-1 draw with Everton

Sarah Rendell
Saturday 02 October 2021 11:50 EDT
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has no regrets over not starting Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Everton.

Ronaldo was brought on just before the hour mark but failed to make an impact as Andros Townsend scored the equaliser 10 minutes after the Portuguese international was introduced. Ronaldo was visibly frustrated when the full-time whistle blew as he ran straight down the tunnel.

But the manager said he would not change his decision in hindsight: “No. You make decisions throughout a long, long season; you have to manage the players’ workload and the decision for me was the correct one.

“Anthony Martial did well, scored a good goal. Edinson [Cavani] needed minutes and could have had a goal. We have to make those decisions at the time.”

The equaliser came from a stunning counter-attack from Everton started by Demarai Gray who won the ball from Fred in midfield following a United corner.

And the Norwegian said the ball should have been dealt with earlier to prevent the Toffees from scoring, adding: “We got hit on one break that cost us and we lacked that cutting edge to get the important second goal. We made a couple of decisions that cost us.

“We had players behind the ball when the ball was delivered and we should have dealt with it. We need to work on it because we are facing more and more opponents who allow us to have possession.”

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