Ralf Rangnick said that he did not take the Cristiano Ronaldo sub reaction personally during their 3-1 win over Brentford at the weekend. He was substituted in the 71st minute when Rangnick brought on more defensive-minded players to protect the lead. The boss later revealed that he did so to try and prevent the same situation as Aston Villa where they blew a two-goal lead.
“I didn’t at all see or interpret that as if he was challenging me, he just showed too emotionally that he wasn’t happy to be replaced,” Ralf Rangnick said about Cristiano Ronaldo. “This was not the first time. If you have a look at the moment when Sir Alex replaced him or other coaches replaced him in the past, it was actually pretty similar. It shows that in the end, it has nothing to do with the manager at the time, it’s about his own ambition and desire to stay on the pitch.”
“I’m not somebody who says afterward that everything was perfect, but in this case, everything I hoped would result for that decision, they were confirmed in the end,” he added. “But it’s a team sport and for us, it’s important to make sure we get the most out of each game, the maximum points. Then it’s a decision of each manager of what do we need right now to secure the game, to make sure we win it, and what kind of weapons do we need on the pitch to score on the counter-attack.”
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