Erik ten Hag has moved to defend his decision to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo off during Manchester United's draw with Newcastle.
Ronaldo had started up-front at Old Trafford and had a goal disallowed by referee Craig Pawson. But in his only change of the game, Ten Hag opted to haul off the Portuguese superstar 18 minutes from time, replacing him with Marcus Rashford.
Despite the introduction of the Englishman though, the Red Devils failed to find a way past Nick Pope in the Magpies' goal. Ronaldo was visibly annoyed at being the man to be brought off, though Ten Hag insisted that it was the right decision.
"We have to cover four games in ten days. I want to keep the strikers fresh. We have to rotate there. Rashy didn't have energy for the whole game so we have to plan it," the Dutchman said.
“I thought Rashy had an impact and if he scored the goal, we would have done everything right. The performance was good, a clean sheet, we pressed well, we controlled the game and in stages we were good on the ball - especially in the second half.
"Then, we dictated the game and in the end we could - we should - have scored the winning goal. One from Fred, and then [Marcus] Rashford had to score. In the end we could have got the win, we deserved the win.
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"It is a big compliment to the team that we deserved this with a physical performance against one of the most physical teams in the league. They [Newcastle players] all had cramp and we kept going. The team understands from front to back we cooperate together. We are hard to beat and we must keep that going."
Ten Hag was also left fuming by the performance of referee Pawaon, who turned down two penalty claims as well as ruling out Ronaldo's effort. The Red Devils boss angrily confronted Pawson after the final whistle, but was keen to steer the focus onto his side's display.
“Everyone can see what happened on the pitch so you judge it. You judge the team and the officials. What I can say is that I am pleased with the performance but disappointed with the result," he said.
“The pressing the whole game was good, the possession was better, we made an improvement after half time, we dominated that game in the second-half by far.”
The point at Old Trafford leaves the Red Devils still sitting fifth in the Premier League table. But they are now 11 points adrift of leaders Arsenal and three points behind Chelsea, who currently occupy the final Champions League qualification place.
Ten Hag's men are next in action on Wednesday when they host Tottenham, who sit third in the table. Ronaldo may be hoping to hit back at his manager's decision to sub him off when Spurs visit.
