CRISTIANO RONALDO joked around in training and produced a hilarious nutmeg despite his derby day snub.
The legendary forward was an unused substitute for Manchester United’s humbling 6-3 defeat against Manchester City.
But Ronaldo is hopeful he will earn a spot back in the starting xi when United travel to Cyprus for their Europa League clash against Omonia on Thursday.
And in training he showed off his skillset with a cheeky Ronaldinho-esque nutmeg on team-mate Lisandro Martinez.
During a session known as a ‘Rondo’, the defender was stood in the middle as he tried to win the ball back before Ronaldo stuck it through his legs.
Ronaldo then celebrated wildly following the minor embarrassment he caused him – with a beaming smile displayed throughout.
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The 37-year-old scored his first goal of the campaign from the penalty spot against FC Sheriff in The Red Devils last European outing.
And Ronaldo will be desperate to add to his tally, with his league minutes being mostly limited to cameos off the bench.
Boss Erik ten Hag will also be hoping to see a reaction from his flops at the weekend in order to shake off the result before they travel to Everton.
The Dutchman was slammed from all sides for his decision to not play Ronaldo at all, despite him claiming it was “out of respect for his big career.”
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SunSport columnist Piers Morgan declared Ten Hag was an “arrogant deluded twerp” for not even bringing him off the bench against City.
Roy Keane also added: “I think United have shown nothing but disrespect to Ronaldo.
They should have let him go when the opportunity came. He did have options, I know that for a fact.”
Meanwhile, Graeme Souness believes Ronaldo should have started the game ahead of Marcus Rashford and also been given priority for minutes ahead of brace scorer Anthony Martial.
However, Jamie Carragher supported Ten Hag’s decision.
He said: “The idea that Erik ten Hag got it wrong yesterday by not playing Ronaldo is laughable!
“Ronaldo played at Brentford when it was 4-0 at half-time.
“It’s not a dig at Cristiano Ronaldo, but Rashford’s pace on the counter-attack as we saw vs Arsenal and Liverpool was the best option.”
Ten Hag was the first critic when it came to his side’s lacklustre performance, as he questioned the belief his players showed in the first half.
“When you don’t believe on the pitch you can’t win games, that is unacceptable,” he said.
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SunSport has exclusively revealed that United new-boy Antony did not follow Ten Hag’s defensive instructions.
He left Diogo Dalot, who had been booked after just two minutes, with no protection and the case was the same on the other side as well as Jadon Sancho left Tyrell Malacia to fend for himself.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
