Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo looked less than pleased when interim manager Ralf Rangnick decided to sub him off in their win over Brentford.
Ronaldo’s display of anger upon being substituted in the 71st minute of United’s win over Brentford raised a few eyebrows. Reports of discontent within the dressing room have grown in the last few weeks, not helped by his recent interview in which he seemed to call out his teammates for lack of effort.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner endured a difficult night at the Brentford Community Stadium and was visibly upset with Rangnick’s decision to take him off for Harry Maguire
Cristiano Ronaldo fumes at Ralf Rangnick after Manchester United sub vs Brentford
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The United boss, however, explained his player’s angry reaction while also revealing what he told him in return.
“The only reaction I got was, ‘Why me? Why did you take me off?’.
“I said to him ‘Listen, I had to take the decision in the interest of the team and the club. We had exactly the same situation five days ago at Villa Park, being 2-0 up with 15 minutes to play and we didn’t want to make the same mistake again’.
Rangnick told the media.
“Cristiano was not happy. He is a goalscorer. He would have wished to stay on and maybe score a goal himself but for us, it was more important to be compact, to make sure that we have enough legs and also strong headers to defend their set-pieces.”
Despite Ronaldo not scoring, United secured a hard-fought 3-1 win over Brentford. Thomas Frank’s team frustrated the Red Devils in the first half, but Anthony Elanga’s opening goal in the 55th minute calmed things down. Mason Greenwood added a second in the 62nd minute, and Marcus Rashford came off the bench to finish things off in the 77th.
Brentford pulled a goal back through Ivan Toney with only a few minutes left on the clock, which proved to be nothing more than a consolation for the Bees.
The win allowed Manchester United to keep up with other top-four hopefuls – Tottenham, West Ham United, and Arsenal. They will take on the fourth-placed Hammers on January 22. David Moyes’ men are two points ahead of them – having played a game more.
