Manchester United manager reacts to Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Christiano Ronaldo of Manchester United reacts after being substituted by Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick during the Premier League match between Brentford and Manchester United at Brentford Community Stadium on January 19, 2022 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Christiano Ronaldo of Manchester United reacts after being substituted by Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick during the Premier League match between Brentford and Manchester United at Brentford Community Stadium on January 19, 2022 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Manchester United must have been delighted to get a 3-1 away win against Brentford. In the first-half, things were not looking good for Ralf Rangnick’s side and they were very lucky to go into the break goalless. The hosts could have easily taken the lead and probably should have with the chances that they had. But a combination of the brilliant David de Gea and bad finishing kept the ball out of the net.

Manchester United managed to turn it around in the second half though, scoring three goals, with Anthony Elanga, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood getting their names on the scoresheet.

But one thing that was not a positive for the Red Devils was the reaction of Cristiano Ronaldo to being substituted off in the second half of the game. The Portuguese legend was clearly not happy to go off.

Rangnick has backed his decision to bring the forward off though. As reported by the Evening Standard, the Manchester United interim manager said:

"“It’s normal, as a striker he wants to score goals and he’d come back from a little injury so for me it was important to bear in mind that we had another game in three days’ time.“We were 2-0 up, I decided to just make sure that we defended better and I think it was the right decision to switch to a back five. We scored the third goal and wanted to keep a clean sheet, unfortunately we didn’t manage it, but at least we made sure nothing happened.”"

The Manchester United superstar did not seem happy with being brought off

It does feel like it was the right decision on the part of Rangnick and the result is just proof of that as well.

It was just in the previous game that we saw Manchester United blow a 2-0 lead, against Aston Villa, and clearly Rangnick would have been keen to avoid a repeat of that, which they managed to do.

On the other hand, it must be said that while Ronaldo has managed to find the back of the net on a consistent basis, some of his actions have often led to criticism as well, whether it is his reaction to being substituted or going straight down the tunnel after defeats.

Hopefully, this is an area that the Portuguese star will look towards and try to work on a bit over the coming games.