Tottenham looked a shadow of themselves during the 2-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford but it was Cristiano Ronaldo that received the most criticism on the night.
The Portuguese superstar was an unused substitute as United cruised to victory after goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes rounded off a poor night for Spurs. Ronaldo has struggled for game time under new manager Erik ten Hag after missing pre-season due to 'family reasons' and expressing a desire to leave Old Trafford during the summer transfer window.
The 37-year-old striker scored a hat-trick in the same fixture last season in which the Lilywhites suffered a 3-2 loss after Harry Kane's penalty and Harry Maguire's own goal were cancelled out by the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Spurs have now lost their last four matches against United in all competitions but most of the headlines were focused on what Ronaldo did before the end of the match on Wednesday night.
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In the 89th minute of the match at Old Trafford, TV cameras focused on the United striker who began trudging towards the tunnel before the final whistle. Ten Hag had only used three of his five available substitutes at that point but Ronaldo was seemingly sure he was not going to be used in any capacity and headed for the changing rooms.
Speaking on Amazon Prime towards the end of United's clash with Spurs, Premier League legend Alan Shearer suggested that he understands Ronaldo's frustrations, but insisted that the veteran attacker needs to look at the bigger picture at Old Trafford. The former Newcastle striker said: "I understand his frustrations of not being able to get on the pitch but when you look at the bigger picture, his team have put on a really good performance tonight.
"The manager had a big call to make in leaving him out and it turned out to be the right decision because they have done everything right. It’s a difficult situation because you are talking about the best player in the world and the best player we have ever seen so it makes things difficult for the manager.
"He is going to get asked about that now in the press conference when he should be asked about every one of his players on the pitch tonight because they have all been impressive."
Speaking after the game, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was asked how Ten Hag deals with the ongoing situation with Ronaldo. The French icon said: "I don't know, that's a job he'll have to deal with.
"Like I said, there was a game, a magnificent game for Manchester United. The story shouldn't be 'Ronaldo walking off'. Not for me anyway."
Former United defender Patrice Evra added: "Everyone is different. I want to focus on the United performance. We don't know if he [Ronaldo] said to Ten Hag that he was going in. Maybe he said to Ten Hag: 'I'm going inside to do some treatment'. I don't want to find any excuses but we should focus more on the performance of United and stop talking everyday about Cristiano."
The morning after the match, former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara discussed Ronaldo's antics on talkSPORT. O'Hara said: "“Ronaldo walks down the tunnel in the 89th minute – it’s a disgrace!
“The best performance for Man United of the season so far, and Ronaldo walks off down the tunnel. And the tunnel at Old Trafford is not right by the dugout, you’ve got to walk the length of the pitch, almost. How disrespectful is that to your teammates!”
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