“Ronaldo played at Brentford when it was 4-0 at ht!” - Jamie Carragher dismisses ‘laughable’ claim about Ten Hag’s decision to bench Manchester United superstar during derby loss 

Jamie Carragher has laughed off the idea that Erik ten Hag's decision to not bring Cristiano Ronaldo on for Manchester United cost them against Manchester City on Sunday (October 2).

The Red Devils found themselves 4-0 down at half-time to their great rivals and were even 6-1 down midway through the second period. Ten Hag's side were outclassed in every department by the Premier League champions, with hat-tricks from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden securing a dominant victory.

Manchester United ultimately lost the derby 6-3, with many wondering why the Dutch boss refused to bring on Cristiano Ronaldo when his team needed goals. The forward is yet to score in the Premier League this term and has started just once in the English top flight.

Some pundits and supporters believe the legendary forward will be unable to adapt to Ten Hag's high-intensity system. Liverpool legend Carragher clearly feels that not bringing the Portugal captain on wasn't the problem, as the game at the Etihad Stadium was already over. The pundit tweeted:

"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 ht!!

"It’s not a dig at CR, but Rashford’s pace on the counter attack as we saw v Arsenal/Liverpool was 100% the best option."

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Roy Keane believes Manchester United should have sold Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's future dominated much of the talk throughout the summer, as he failed to attend United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia.

Legendary Manchester United midfielder Keane believes the forward should have been allowed to leave in the window, rather than be left to rot on the bench. The pundit told Sky Sports (as quoted by The Mirror):

“United are showing disrespect to Ronaldo. I think he should have been let go this summer during the transfer window. I don’t think the manager should have held onto him just for him to sit on the bench. He is one of the greatest players ever and he had options to leave this summer."

"The idea that he had no options is rubbish. He had four or five very good options. Ok, Anthony Martial comes off the bench and scores twice so you can justify it but this pattern could turn ugly. He will be motivated with the World Cup coming up but if he is always sitting on the bench, it is not good.”