Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has defended his decision to substitute out Cristiano Ronaldo with 20 minutes to play in Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle United.
Ronaldo made a rare Premier League start for United, only his second of the season, but was hooked with the game up for grabs.
The 37-year-old Portuguese appeared frustration with the decision at the time, shaking his head numerous times as he walked off.
United created a late chance but Ronaldo’s replacement Marcus Rashford headed wide, leaving them to settle for a draw, putting them in fifth spot with 16 points from nine games.
“We have to recover as we have four games in 10 days and especially for the strikers, I want to keep them fresh,” Ten Hag said.
“I want to keep them all fresh, we have to rotate because of some problems we have.
“(Anthony) Martial is not available in this moment, then Rashy (Rashford) was not well, so he did not have energy for the whole game.
“We had to plan to cover for the four games because we want to win or at least get a result in all four games.”
Ronaldo had started and played a full game in United’s 1-0 win over Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored two goals from 12 appearances in all competitions this season.
Ronaldo almost left United in the last transfer window, having requested a move with a desire for Champions League football.
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