Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag, has explained why he substituted Cristiano Ronaldo during the second half of their 0-0 draw with Newcastle on Sunday.
The Red Devils managed just two shots on target against Eddie Howe’s side.
Ronaldo, starting a league game for the first time since August, was substituted in the 72nd minute and was visibly disappointed with the decision as he walked off.
However, Ten Hag insisted afterwards he wanted to make sure the 37-year-old is available for a tough run of fixtures, including games against Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea this week.
“We have to recover four games in 10 days and especially for the strikers, I want to keep them fresh,” Ten Hag said.
“I want to keep them all fresh, we have to rotate because of some problems we have.
“[Anthony] Martial is not available in this moment, then Rashy [Marcus Rashford] was not well, so he did not have energy for the whole game.
“We had to plan to cover for the four games because we want to win or at least get a result in all four games.”
