Man Utd hero Evra backs Ten Hag despite close Ronaldo relationship
Erik ten Hag to 'deal with' Ronaldo early exit down tunnel
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Manchester United hero Patrice Evra has backed Erik ten Hag’s handling of the Cristiano Ronaldo situation ahead of today’s Premier League clash with Chelsea. The Portugal international is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after storming down the tunnel following a 2-0 win over Tottenham in midweek. He’s set to miss the game at Stamford Bridge and train with the Under-21s for the foreseeable future.
Manchester United produced their best performance of the season so far against Tottenham, with Fred and Bruno Fernandes netting on a raucous night at Old Trafford.
But Ronaldo, with four minutes left on the clock, decided to eject himself from the premises after being told to come on.
The United star made his way down the tunnel while the game was still in play, with Evra later saying people should ‘stop talking about’ the veteran.
And the France international has now backed Ten Hag’s handling of the situation, while insisting everybody should move on.
“Of course I understand Cristiano Ronaldo’s frustration but people should focus on Man United’s performance and let Ten Hag solve it,” he told Betfair.
“All the talk around Ronaldo is negative now and I don’t want things to be negative around the club and I don’t think people need to add anything about it because Ten Hag will deal with it.”
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Evra also hailed United for the way they performed, admitting Fernandes was back to being the main man on a night where Ronaldo didn’t make it onto the field.
“What I love about Bruno is his work ethic,” said the five-time Premier League winner.
“When you go to an orchestra, it’s one person managing it, not two and you don’t play football with two footballs and people think that he’s not been scoring because he’s not been the main man but he doesn’t want to be.
“Against Tottenham we saw Bruno back to his best and even though he doesn’t like it, it’s because he was the main man.
“It was a great performance from Man United against Tottenham.
“It was complete because they dominated at the start of the game but let’s not talk about the title race, let’s talk about fourth place.
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“After the loss against Man City I was worried but this has shown the character, the resilience and that no players want to give up and I was really proud.
“I really believe in the process and Man United are going in the right direction but I know there will be lots of ups and downs.
“You can really see the progress and Ten Hag’s style which is really encouraging for the future.
“The football and philosophy that is being implemented is developing so fast. It was even really difficult to pick a man of the match after the game.
“It was a real team performance and the manner in which they won was more important for me than the result.
“Old Trafford was rocking but what I enjoyed most was the structure of the team. The way the team pressed together and the balance of the team as well as the energy.
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“I didn’t expect Tottenham to dominate the game and I think Tottenham can say thank you to Hugo Lloris because Man United should’ve been five-nil up.”
Evra does think, however, that United must now produce a similar display consistently going forward.
“In most of the big games, Man United have shown consistency apart from against Man City,” he said.
“I see progress because against Arsenal and Liverpool they didn’t control the game whereas against Tottenham, United were in control.
“When I was a player, Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t care about big games, he knew he didn’t need to motivate us because he knew we’d be ready.
“Everyone was disappointed with the draw against Newcastle but it’s not like they’re a small team, this is Newcastle.
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“Man United need to play with the same intensity every game.”
And while United are confident ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Chelsea, Evra has fired a warning to his old side.
“Man United going into the game against Chelsea confident is my worry,” he said. “I was confident ahead of the Man City game so I hope they won’t be ahead of this one.
“I want Man United to have their backs against the wall in every game because that’s when they play their best and fight for every ball.
“If the team go to Chelsea with the mindset of the hosts being favourites then I know Man United will deliver.
“Let’s go to Stamford Bridge, play the United way and show respect to Chelsea.”
“I didn’t expect Tottenham to dominate the game and I think Tottenham can say thank you to Hugo Lloris because Man United should’ve been five-nil up.”
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Evra does think, however, that United must now produce a similar display consistently going forward.
“In most of the big games, Man United have shown consistency apart from against Man City,” he said.
“I see progress because against Arsenal and Liverpool they didn’t control the game whereas against Tottenham, United were in control.
“When I was a player, Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t care about big games, he knew he didn’t need to motivate us because he knew we’d be ready.
“Everyone was disappointed with the draw against Newcastle but it’s not like they’re a small team, this is Newcastle.
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