Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has given a somewhat surprising explanation for leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the full 90 minutes against Manchester City on Sunday.
United lost 6-3 to their local rivals in the Manchester derby and Ten Hag's side were 4-0 down to the champions at half-time.
That seemed a logical time to bring on a great goalscorer like Ronaldo, but Ten Hag claimed he did not send the Portuguese on at that point 'out of respect' for the player.
"I wouldn’t bring him in because we are 4-0 down, out of respect for Cristiano, for his big career," he said.
Instead, Ten Hag brought on Anthony Martial just short of the hour mark and the French forward scored twice late on in the 6-3 defeat.
On the manner of the loss, Ten Hag told the BBC: "It's quite simple, it's a lack of belief. When you don't believe on the pitch then you can't win games, that is unacceptable."
And he added: "We let our fans down, we let ourselves down and we're hugely disappointed."
