Cristiano Ronaldo gets dropped vs Tottenham, exits field again before final whistle; WATCH

Portuguese football great Cristiano Ronaldo was dropped by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag yet again during the Premier League 2022-23 match against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Wednesday. While Fred and Bruno Fernandes contributed with goals to hand United a 2-0 win, Ronaldo found himself in the headlines for exiting the match yet again before the final whistle. This was the second time this year that the 37-year-old was spotted leaving the field before the game had ended. 

Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo exits field before match vs Tottenham Hotspur ends

'I don't pay attention to that,' says Erik ten Hag on Cristiano Ronaldo

Earlier in July, Ronaldo came under Ten Hag’s scanner for leaving Old Trafford before full-time in a pre-season friendly against Rayou Vallencano, after he was benched at half-time. While the Dutch manager had then described Ronaldo’s departure as ‘unacceptable’, Ten Hag said he will deal with his exit against Tottenham later. Speaking to the reporters after the match, the United manager said, “Yeah, I don't pay attention to that, we deal with that tomorrow. We want to focus on this team, it was a magnificent performance from all 11 players”.

Ten Hag added that even the substitutes had a good role to play in the game and described the win as a squad performance. “And, in answer to your question, we deal with that tomorrow and what we have seen today was 11 players who defend, 11 players who attack there was a lot of dynamic in the attack as well. I am pleased with that but I won't say I am totally satisfied because good is not good enough, that has to be the standard here,” he added.

Erik ten Hag explains why Marcus Rashford took Cristiano Ronaldo's role

Interestingly, the match against Antonio Conte’s side was United’s best performance without Ronaldo under the guidance of Ten Hag. Ronaldo has started only two games this season for United and in the post-match press conference, Ten Hag highlighted the player’s weakness as what has restricted him from starting games. The manager used Marcus Rashford as a centre-forward at Ronaldo’s expense.

Explaining that the team need good pressing players against the Spurs, the Dutchman said, “And, offensive-wise, you need dynamic and that is what Marcus can bring. You saw in the last 20 minutes against Newcastle from the moment he came in, he changed the game, more dynamic, more gaps and the players benefited from it."