"That’s not the case, no" - Manchester United boss Carrick dismisses speculation that benching Cristiano Ronaldo against Chelsea was Ralf Rangnick's idea

Michael Carrick has made it clear that Ralf Rangnick had no influence on Cristiano Ronaldo being benched for Manchester United's game against Chelsea. Jadon Sancho's second goal for the Red Devils gave United the lead before Jorginho's spot-kick canceled it out.

Here's what Carrick said in response to Gary Neville's comments suggesting the idea of leaving Ronaldo out came from United’s incoming manager:

“That’s not the case, no. We came here with a plan. I kind of knew how Chelsea would play and we wanted to stop the passes through to Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. There were a few changes to freshen it up and it’s what we decided to go with today. We almost pulled it off.”

Furthermore, Carrick stated he was unsure about Rangnick leading Cristiano Ronaldo and co. in Manchester United's crucial game against Arsenal on December 3. He added:

“I haven’t got any more news for you. I was focused on the game. I’m sure I’ll be updated and we’ll see what happens in the next few days.”

United's clash against Chelsea was Carrick's second game as caretaker manager. However, Rangnick is set to take over as interim manager later this week. This will be followed up by a consultancy role from June 2022.

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Cristiano Ronaldo was benched against Chelsea but Manchester United avoided defeat

Despite Ronaldo being left out, United avoided defeat and currently sit in eighth place. Carrick reiterated how happy he was with Sancho's performance. The English forward scored after Jorginho failed to clear a long ball from Bruno Fernandes.

Chelsea, on the flip side, dropped points against an off-color United despite being the better team, as was pointed out by gaffer Thomas Tuchel after the clash. Here's what the German manager said:

“It’s hard to imagine you can drop points because we were the better team. We’re disappointed, but we have no regrets. I told the team I was happy with the performance.”

There's just a two-point difference between the top three teams in the Premier League right now. Manchester City are just a point behind Chelsea with 29, while Liverpool are two points behind Tuchel's men, and are in third place.

Chelsea will now take on Watford on December 2 in midweek, before traveling to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United on December 4.

Manchester United take on Arsenal in midweek before taking on Crystal Palace on December 5.

It's safe to say that Cristiano Ronaldo will be starting for Manchester United against their crucial clash against the Gunners.