MANCHESTER UNITED superstar Cristiano Ronaldo should have start against Manchester City, insists Liverpool legend Graeme Souness.
Ronaldo was not involved on Sunday’s Manchester derby and watched from the bench as United were thrashed 6-3 by rivals City.
Souness disagrees with manager Erik ten Hag’s decision not to play the five-time Ballon d’Or winner as he is adamant he should start ahead of Marcus Rashford.
The Sky Sports pundit believes Ten Hag can’t afford to wait for Rashford to become the player he hopes he will be as he has “stood still”.
Souness told talkSPORT: “Time is not your friend in football, you have to be winning games today.
“It’s not about waiting for Marcus Rashford to become the player that most people believe he can be.
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“It’s not about giving [Anthony] Martial, because of his age, a place in the team over Ronaldo. It’s about today in football. Yeah, I would have [played] Ronaldo.
“Marcus Rashford, when he first burst into the team as a young player you thought ‘he’s the real deal’. He’s stood still.
“If you were to ask me today, next week, big game – for all his shortcomings, Ronaldo, I would have played him in front of Rashford.”
Ten Hag issued a bizarre excuse when asked why he didn’t have Ronaldo involved in the weekend.
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The Dutch tactician claimed he didn’t introduce the star forward “out of respect”.
Ten Hag explained: “I didn’t bring him on out of respect for his big career.
“And the other thing, there was then the advantage I could bring Anthony Martial on.
“He needs the minutes but I don’t want to point it out like that.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
