A Cristiano Ronaldo -less Manchester United will face Chelsea on Saturday to end another drama-filled week in the club's rollercoaster season.
The Red Devils pulled off an impressive victory to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on Wednesday, but the match was marred by Ronaldo's petulant behaviour. The 37-year-old stormed down the tunnel before full-time, having refused to come on as a substitute when Erik ten Hag offered him a late cameo.
Ronaldo promptly left Old Trafford before his teammates even came back into the dressing room to celebrate the win, leading to serious consequences for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. Ronaldo has been dropped from the squad ahead of Saturday's match and will train alone until after United return from west London.
It has since emerged that the Portuguese megastar no longer has the support of the dressing room after his latest outburst, with players turning against him. According to The Sun, Ronaldo has left a number of teammates who'd previously backed him disappointed with his behaviour.
But those Red Devils - who were pictured travelling to London on Friday evening - won't have to deal with him this weekend, as a club statement read: "Cristiano will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday's game against Chelsea. The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture."
In Ten Hag's pre-match press conference, the United manager remained coy on his exact discussions with his No.7, but did lay down the law. "I'm the manager. I'm responsible for the culture and I have to set standards and values, and I have to control them," the Dutchman declared. We are in a team and in a team we have standards and values, and we have to control it."
With Marcus Rashford expected to keep his place up front in Ronaldo's absence, Ten Hag hopes that the scorer of 700 club goals can use his period on the sidelines to 'reflect' on his actions. "Also for everyone else," the 52-year-old added. "I set a warning at the start of the season, and the next time it has to be consequence, otherwise when you are living together, when you are playing together - and football is a team sport - you have to fulfil certain standards. And I have to control it."
Have your say! Was Ten Hag right to drop Ronaldo? Give us your verdict in the comments section.
Joining Ronaldo on the sidelines will be Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek, who're both still nursing injuries. Out-of-favour captain Harry Maguire and young defender Brandon Williams were spotted training during the week, and there was a pleasing update on Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
"He is back on the pitch, so that's good news, because we need everyone," Ten Hag confirmed. We have so may games to cover, so we need a big squad, you need that you can pick players, that you have choice. So I'm happy with that process."
Meanwhile, academy prospect Zidane Iqbal is set to be included in the matchday squad at Stamford Bridge after being pictured on Friday. Christian Eriksen is also looking to make his first start in nearly a fortnight, having recently come down with illness and Casemiro and Fred holding down the midfield fort during his absence.
