Man United’s poor form at Old Trafford continued on Saturday as they played to a 1-1 draw with Everton. By surprise, Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the starting XI by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, coming on as a substitute early in the second half.
The Norwegian boss addressed his decision to leave Ronaldo on the bench after the fixture. Via Goal:
“You make decisions for a long, long season and you have to manage the players’ workload. The decision was, for me, a correct one.
“Anthony Martial came in and did well, scored a good goal. Edinson needed minutes and got an hour, he could have scored.”
Valid points without a question, but Man United desperately needed a victory here after tasting defeat to Aston Villa last weekend. While Martial did come through with a goal and Cavani showed promise, it seems wrong that Ronaldo wasn’t leading the line. After all, he is the heartbeat of their attack.
On the other hand, though, it’s still early in the campaign and the Red Devils are in a respectable position in the table despite only picking up a point against the Toffees. It was good to see Martial finally contribute in a rare start as well considering all the rumors surrounding his uncertain future with Man United.
While Ronaldo doesn’t exactly show his age, he has played a lot since reuniting with the club. Solskjaer is clearly just making sure the Portuguese international is staying fresh so he can put his best foot forward each and every time he steps on the pitch.
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