Ronaldo cites ‘heat of moment’ after left off Manchester United squad
Ronaldo has not made the cut for the starting line-up for Monday’s Manchester United clash with West Ham, with Jose Mourinho stating the Manchester club ‘felt his form wasn’t that good’.
Jose Mourinho has left out Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo for the Hammers game, and feels the winger’s form wasn’t at the level he had hoped it would be.
The 37-year-old, who has scored 13 times for United this season, is yet to feature in the centre of midfield alongside Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba.
Instead, Ronaldo has been used off the bench in a wide-ranging midfield three with Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford.
The decision follows an unconvincing display on Saturday – when the Real Madrid man came off the bench in the 4-2 defeat at Bayern Munich – and the manager feels that the player was not ready for a step up in level.
United boss Jose Mourinho says that Ronaldo left out of his squad for the West Ham game felt his form wasn’t particularly good.
The United man was left out of the 4-2-3-1 formation which he has used so far this season, having scored 13 goals as a starter for club and country.
His omission means that Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk will start against the west London club, while Wayne Rooney and Paul Pogba are the other options behind the striker.
In contrast, Antonio Valencia, Danny Welbeck and Marcos Rojo are all included in that midfield three.
The decision means Mourinho is leaving out of his Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, with the manager not having selected a true number 10 in recent matches, preferring to start a trio of forwards, with Lukaku partnering Pogba up front.
The United boss feels his players have not played up to expectations