Ronaldo has been left on the bench for Manchester United’s clash with Burnley with interim boss Rangnick taking a sly dig at the 37-year-old.
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has aimed a sly dig at Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Burnley.
The 37-year-old was benched for the game with Rangnick opting to pick Edinson Cavani who returned from an extended break following the internationals last week.
Ronaldo has scored in United’s last four games and has struggled to make an impact in recent weeks. Rangnick explained he opted for Cavani over Ronaldo because the Uruguayan does “more sprinting than his teammate”.
“Today will require a lot of sprinting, chasing balls and a lot of fight for second balls,” Rangnick said ahead of the encounter.
“I decided to start with Edi because he has the kind of profile that suits what we want.
“I am not worried about Cristiano not getting enough goals – we have a couple of games coming up and we will need him to start with.”
Ronaldo has started every game under Rangnick, barring the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last month, but has managed to score just two goals under the Italian.
David de Gea returns to the starting XI following United’s FA Cup exit by Middlesbrough last week, but nine other players from last week remain in the squad.
Man United starting XI: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Pogba, Rashford, Fernandes, Sancho, Cavani.
Subs: Henderson, Jones, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka, Lingard, Mata, Matic, Elanga, Ronaldo.
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