Coach Ten Hag confirms Ronaldo refused to come on as substitute

MANCHESTER: Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday and that he is now training away from the first-team squad.

Ronaldo was an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 2-0 home win and walked down the tunnel with a few minutes of the match remaining after being left on the bench again by Ten Hag. The Portuguese striker was left out of the squad that will face Chelsea on Saturday.

“Yes,” Ten Hag told reporters on Friday when asked if the 37-year-old had refused to come on. “I am the manager, I am responsible for the culture here and I have to set standards and values and I have to control them. In the team, we have values and standards and I have to control that. It will (be) a (time for) reflection for him, but also for everyone else.”

Ten Hag insisted, however, it is not the end for Ronaldo at United. “After Vallecano, I told him it was unacceptable... this is the second time, there are consequences. We miss him tomorrow (vs Chelsea).”

Aston Villa sack Gerrard after poor start

Aston Villa have sacked manager Steven Gerrard following a poor start to the Premier League season that has left the team 17th in the table after 11 matches, the club said on

Thursday. “We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future,” Aston Villa said in a short statement.

Lewandowski double eases Barca woes

BARCELONA: Robert Lewandowski struck twice as a hurting Barcelona flexed their muscles to thrash Villarreal 3-0 in the La Liga on Thursday. Lewandowski extended his domestic tally to 11 goals and his brace, along with Ansu Fati’s strike, came in an eight-minute blitz near the end of the first half. Xavi made five changes from the side which lost to Real Madrid, most notably dropping Sergio Busquets and deploying Frenkie de Jong in the pivot role, where he excelled.