"Ten Hag's surely got balls of steel" "Not watching" - Manchester United fans fume as Cristiano Ronaldo is benched for third straight game

Cristiano Ronaldo has been dropped by Erik ten Hag for the Red Devils' past two wins over Liverpool and Southampton.

There has been huge speculation over the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's future but he appears to be staying at Old Trafford for the time being,

He also appears to be staying on the bench with Ten Hag opting for a front three of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga once again.

Meanwhile, Casemiro isn't handed his first start having came off the bench in the 2-1 win over Southampton last time out.

Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen are chosen in the middle of the park with Bruno Fernandes in attacking midfield.

Diogo Dalot and Tyrell Malacia start in the full-back positions with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez partnering one another at centre-back again.

That means captain Harry Maguire is also benched for the third game in a row with David De Gea chosen in goal.

Manchester United supporters are becoming irritated with Ten Hag's decision to name Ronaldo on the bench.

Here are some reactions from fans on Twitter to the legendary forward not starting for the third game in a row:

Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United future looks bleak under Ten Hag

Perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo's eagerness to leave Manchester United didn't stem from a lack of Champions League football.

However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has found himself starting both of Ten Hag's side's last two fixtures on the substitutes bench.

The Red Devils have won both of those games, having started the season off with two demoralizing defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.

Ronaldo started against the Bees and was part of the woeful United side that were destroyed 4-0.

Ten Hag's philosophy is one of possession-based football and involves a real emphasis on pressing.

This is just something the Portuguese forward doesn't do, and perhaps this clashes with the style of football Ten Hag is implementing.

Ronaldo's spot in the Manchester United XI is now coming under threat despite the club having not even signed a new striker.

A bit-part role for the legendary forward feels wrong, but until at least January it looks like a possibility he will have to accept.

The former Real Madrid striker has a year left remaining on his current deal at Old Trafford with the option to extend for a further year.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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