BERN – Coach’s decision Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, replaced Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes in the match against Young Boys on the first matchday of the group stage Champions League 2021-2022 is in the spotlight. Accused of being one of the causes of Man United’s defeat, Solskjaer also revealed the reason for replacing Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes.
Quoted from Sky Sports, Wednesday (15/9/2021), Solskjaer, who was criticized for this change, said that it needed to be done because the two Portuguese players had run a lot in the previous match which was held on Saturday 11 September 2021 in the Premier League. Therefore, Solskjaer finally decided to replace the two mainstay players.
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“It’s been 70 minutes, they (Ronaldo and Fernandes) have run a lot, both on Saturday and today. Astroturf has taken a toll and we need experience from Nemanja (Matic) to hold the ball and Jesse’s feet (Lingard) ‘ said Solskjaer.
In this match, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes were replaced by Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard in the 72nd minute when the match was still a 1-1 draw. But after being substituted, Man United finally lost to the hosts in the final minute.
The Norwegian coach said Ronaldo had performed exceptionally in his last two matches. However, he must maintain the condition of the 36-year-old player.
Solskjaer assessed that pulling out Ronaldo at that minute was the right choice to maintain the condition of the megastar.
“Ronaldo is amazing. But we have to keep him and it feels like the right time to withdraw him,” said Solskjaer.
