'I love that' – Ian Wright praises Erik ten Hag over Cristiano Ronaldo decision

Ian Wright has praised Erik ten Hag for not ’embarrassing’ Cristiano Ronaldo during Manchester United’s derby defeat to Manchester City.

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United were beaten 6-3 by local rivals City at the start of the month and Ten Hag opted against introducing Old Trafford legend Ronaldo from the bench.

In his post-match interview, Ten Hag said he left Ronaldo on the bench partly out of respect to his remarkable career, but many pundits and fans were left baffled by the decision.

Arsenal legend Wright, though, believes Ten Hag made the right call and says it was the ‘best thing to do’ given the circumstances.

Speaking on the Wrighty’s House podcast, he said: ‘I want to say something about Ten Hag respecting Ronaldo’s legacy by not bringing him on against Manchester City.

‘There’s something in that which I found very magnanimous and respectful.

‘No one can understand – apart from Ten Hag – what it’s like to be sitting there in the dugout with one of the greatest players of all-time on the bench.

‘Your team is losing 4-0 and you know the cameras are on him. Ten Hag didn’t want to embarrass Ronaldo by bringing him on at 4-0.

‘We’re not talking about prime Ronaldo here, we’re talking about an ageing Ronaldo. At 4-0, is he going to make the big difference? Obviously he scored against Everton and it was brilliant.

‘But when you’re 4-0 down – against Man City – it was the best thing to do. Ten Hag did the right thing for Ronaldo. I love that.’

While Ronaldo was an unused substitute at the Etihad, he did come off the bench to help Manchester United beat Everton 2-1 on Sunday night.

The Portugal legend scored his 700th club goal in the narrow win, taking his tally for United to 144 across his two spells in Manchester.

After Ronaldo reached another stunning milestone, Ten Hag said: ‘That is really impressive, when you score 700 goals, it’s a huge performance.

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‘I’m really happy for him, I congratulate him on that performance and I’m also happy it’s his first goal this season in the Premier League – he had to wait for it and I’m sure there will be more goals.’

Everton boss Frank Lampard added: ‘It is outstanding, one of the greatest players that has graced the game in an era when we have had himself and Messi.

‘The comparison doesn’t matter, they are both incredible players in football history. The numbers they have racked up… abnormal numbers that have become normal.’

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