Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been criticized for his decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo in the game against Everton, but another manager came to his defense.
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan spoke to talkSPORT in an exclusive interview and issued a statement in favor of Solskjaer’s decision.
“I do not dispute the [principio]to always play with your best player, ”Jordan said.
“But the argument cannot be that, unless Cristiano Ronaldo plays every second of every minute of every game, the [Manchester] United will return to the situation and say ‘I should have played [Cristiano] Ronaldo’ ”.
The Portuguese superstar was visibly upset when his team failed to pull off a win against an intoxicating Everton squad last weekend, and went into the tunnel after the final whistle.
Ronaldo has a reason to feel like Manchester United Had a great chance to win the game after maligned winger Anthony Martial’s scream found the back of the net in the 43rd minute to take the 1-0 lead.
However, Everton returned 11 minutes later with Andros Townsend scoring a goal through goalkeeper David deGea for the 1-1 draw.
Jordan stressed that Manchester United’s talent shortage should have been able to contain Everton and that Solskjaer and Ronaldo cannot always be blamed.
“They had enough on that field to win that game and it shouldn’t be all about [Cristiano] Ronaldo. The game itself was to be won and there was enough talent on the court to be able to win that game, “said the 53-year-old.
“Regardless of whether it is Ronaldo or not, he is 36 years old. Although he can play at a certain level and score a lot of goals, there are times when he will have to rotate and rest.”
Solskjaer chose to start Edinson Cavani for this match, which was a surprising feat for the Uruguayan star who found himself on the bench several times after the arrival of Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho during the summer transfer window.
He was replaced by Ronaldo in the 54th minute .
The English Premier League will resume after this weekend’s international break, giving Manchester United plenty of time to prepare against Leicester City when they visit on 16 October.
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