Erik ten Hag to ‘deal with that tomorrow’ after Cristiano Ronaldo storms down tunnel before end of Spurs game
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Updated 20/10/2022 at 16:15 GMT
Goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes in the second half were enough for Manchester United to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Premier League at Old Trafford. The win laid down a marker in the battle for top four and beyond, and was the best performance of the Erik ten Hag era. However, focus, as is often the case, was on Cristiano Ronaldo, who was on the bench; a station he left before full time.
Ten Hag to 'deal with' Ronaldo after early exit from win over Spurs
Erik ten Hag says he "will deal with that tomorrow" after unused substitute Cristiano Ronaldo left the bench and headed down the tunnel before the end of Manchester United's 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League.
It was an impressive performance – probably the best of the Ten Hag era – but as is often the case, much of the focus was on Ronaldo, who was stationed on the bench. And when he headed down the tunnel before the end of the match, the scrutiny only intensified.
It later emerged that Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the final whistle, rather than heading to the dressing room. The Athletic reported that his "early exit didn’t make a ripple in the home dressing room as United’s players celebrated the win".
Before the match, Ten Hag had said he understood the Portuguese superstar’s frustration at a lack of playing time, and said he had no issues if Ronaldo vented that in a normal way.
"I think no player is happy when he [is taken] off, and especially not Ronaldo, I understand that,” said Ten Hag. “As long as it is [done] in quite a normal way, [I have] no problem with that.”
However, in the immediate aftermath of the Tottenham match, Ten Hag indicated that he was not happy with Ronaldo's conduct.
Asked whether Ronaldo had told him he was leaving the pitch early, Ten Hag revealed what happened to Amazon Prime Video Sport.
"He was there, I have seen him, yea, but I did not speak to him after," began Ten Hag.
Pressed by host Gabby Logan whether that is something he would normally not want to happen, Ten Hag added:
"I will deal with that tomorrow. Not today. We are celebrating this victory and now we must recover."
“The story is not Ronaldo walking down the tunnel early before the whistle. This was a brilliant performance from United and we don’t need to speak about Ronaldo every day,” Thierry Henry added on Amazon Prime Video Sport.
“When there’s three or four players that can get man of the match, you know it’s been a fantastic performance. There was a lot of security from the manager who managed the game perfectly, and you’re starting to see that the players really respect him.”
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