Sir Alex slams decision to bench Ronaldo

LONDON. — Sir Alex Ferguson appeared to slam Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to start Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for Manchester United’s draw with Everton in a chat with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Ronaldo was surprisingly named as a substitute for last Saturday’s Old Trafford clash and while Solskjaer brought him off the bench after 57 minutes, the Red Devils were held to a stalemate by Rafa Benitez’s Toffees. In a video posted on retired MMA star Khabib’s Instagram, Sir Alex was seen speaking to the Dagestani fighter after the Old Trafford match and when the topic of the game came up, the Scot said: ‘’But I also think that when they (Everton) saw that Ronaldo wasn’t playing, it was a bit . . . ’

Khabib replied: ‘’He came on in the second half . . . .’— but Ferguson dismissed that claim. The legendary Manchester United manager responded: ‘’I know, but you should always start with your best players.’’

After the final whistle went at Old Trafford, Ronaldo was seen storming down the tunnel in frustration, while Solskjaer defended his call to leave the Portuguese sensation on the bench. ‘’You make decisions throughout a long, long season and you’ve got to manage the players’ workload. The decision was, for me, the correct one today,’’said Solskjaer in his post-match press conference.‘’Anthony Martial did well and scored a good goal. Edinson (Cavani) needed minutes and got an hour. We have to make those decisions sometimes.

‘’With the result today, I understand they go away disappointed. We have started better than last season but it’s still not what we wanted.’’ Saturday’s draw with Everton meant United have failed to win four of their last six games in all competitions. Despite sitting fourth in the table, losses at home to Aston Villa in the league, West Ham in the Carabao Cup and at Swiss minnows Young Boys in the Champions League ramped up the heat on Solskjaer. — Mailonline.