Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said Cristiano Ronaldo did quite well in his win over West Ham United on Sunday.
Man Utd hosted West Ham at Old Trafford in a Premier League game and picked up three important points with a 1-0 victory over the Hammers.
Marcus Rashford’s first-half goal separated the two sides as Man Utd moved up to fifth in the points table. Rashford scored what would turn out to be the winner in the 38th minute of the match. He sent a stunning header into the Newcastle United net after receiving a cross from Christian Eriksen.
Ten Hag included Ronaldo in Man Utd’s starting XI for the game against West Ham. It was only his third league start of the season.
Erik ten Hag gives verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance against West Ham
But the Portuguese had a fairly calm game. He drew another target, failing to score against the visitors.
However, speaking after the match, Ten Hag said that Ronaldo did well against the Hammers. “I think he did pretty well,” Ten Hag told Sky Sports. [via Manchester Evening News] After the match. “(He did) what we expect; lead the pressing.“
Ten Hag also revealed that he told Ronaldo at half time not to go down too fast in the opening stages of the warm-up game.
Ronaldo has had a rocky start to the 22/23 season, with the Portuguese so far only managing three goals in all competitions for the Red Devils. He has made 14 appearances for Man Utd in the current campaign.
Ronaldo has only scored one goal in the Premier League in the 22/23 season. That came against Everton, as he scored the winner to help Man Utd beat the Merseyside side 2-1.
Ronaldo’s other two goals of the campaign have come in the Europa League. He scored a goal each in the two games that Man Utd played against FC Sheriff.
Meanwhile, victory over West Ham moved Man Utd up to fifth place in the Premier League points table. The Red Devils have 23 points from 12 games and are just one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle United, who have played one more game.
But the Old Trafford team is eight points behind Arsenal. The Gunners, who secured a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, have 31 points from 12 league games this season.
