“He was frustrated, it’s understandable” - Rio Ferdinand defends Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to walk straight down the tunnel
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late winner against Villarreal in the Champions League in midweek, which sent the entire community into a state of frenzy. However, the Portuguese star painted a completely different image at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. After a draw with Everton, he stormed stradown the tunnel.
Naturally, this reaction witnessed severe backlash from the community. However, Rio Ferdinand has defended Ronaldo's response, revealing that it's "understandable."
Here's what the former Manchester United defender had to say on the subject:
"There’s no doubt that the players, the fans would’ve left the ground disappointed today, the result isn’t what they wanted. Cristiano Ronaldo himself, when he trudged off the pitch he was frustrated, that’s understandable."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to bench Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho for the game against the Toffees. His gamble paid off with Anthony Martial scoring an absolute screamer before the end of the first half. But Andros Townsend canceled out their lead in the second half.
Great to see you back in the goals, @AnthonyMartial 👏
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The gaffer made several attacking changes in the second half, but the Red Devils failed to capitalize. Cristiano Ronaldo looked absolutely disgusted with his performance against Everton. He chose to storm down the tunnel, leaving himself with enough time to ponder during the international break.
The boss has his say on #MUNEVE 🗣
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Rio Ferdinand comes to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's rescue after defending Cristiano Ronaldo's antics
Scores of fans demanded Ole's sacking after United failed to register a win at Old Trafford.
This comes in response to the previous weekend's game, where the Red Devils were defeated 0-1 by Aston Villa. Furthermore, a draw with the Toffees implied that they lost their chance to go top of the Premier League table. They have won just two of their last six matches across all competitions.
It ends level.
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Ole's decision to bench Ronaldo has been met with a lot of criticism after the team's failure to register a win. However, as with Cristiano Ronaldo, Rio Ferdinand has defended the gaffer amid calls for him to be sacked.
He said:
"It’s now three losses in five, drawn one and won one, so it’s not a great vein of form that they’re in. But Man United are good enough, they’ve got good enough players, great depth, they need to start really getting the performances in and the results to turn things around."
He concluded by saying:
"This isn’t a time to start calling for Ole’s head etc, because they are still within touching distance at the top, they’ve still got an opportunity to mount a threat and contend for the league. But they have to really start getting some consistency and getting some form back."
Manchester United have looked extremely dangerous with Cristiano Ronaldo's addition and are potential title contenders. However, they have often looked under pressure and would need to spice up their attack in order to maintain their authority in the Premier League table.