Manchester United Manager Explains Why Cristiano Ronaldo Did Not Take the Penalty vs Aston Villa

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been managing Manchester United for the past 4 years. And while many expected Solskjaer to be the next Furgeson. Under his reign so far, the Red Devils haven’t won a silverware. The closest they came to a trophy was last year when they lost the Europa League final to Villarreal on penalties.

For a team that came this close to winning a trophy, add to that, a stellar transfer window involving the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane, and Jadon Sancho, it was natural for Manchester United fans to expect an improvement in performances this season. Unfortunately, things have been on a downward spiral for the Old Trafford side of late.

When the season started, many people believed that the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo was nothing more than United giving respect to a club legend. However, Ronaldo has proved his critics wrong and has been performing admirably well since joining the club.

Manchester United’s lean patch

However, even Ronaldo’s best form was not enough and Manchester United has not started the season like they would have wanted to.

United are currently going through a lean patch. Their last three matches, in fact, have been disastrous. They lost their Champions League opener to Young Boys, were knocked out of the Carabao Cup, and then fell to Aston Villa in the final minute on Friday night.

As luck would have it, Manchester United were given a lifeline in stoppage time when they were awarded a penalty. But as they say, when your time is bad, nothing goes right. This is exactly what happened. Bruno Fernandes took the responsibility to take the penalty instead of Cristiano Ronaldo. Unfortunately, Bruno missed the penalty in a very uncharacteristic fashion.

?Manchester United explains why Bruno Fernandes took the penalty instead of Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United shocked the world when Bruno Fernandes took the penalty instead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is arguably the greatest ever to do it. Speaking to the press about this, Ole Solskjaer explained this decision. ?That is football,? Solskjaer said. ?He will step forward every day of the week for the club and the team and sometimes it just doesn?t go your way. It is such a fine line between heaven and hell.?

When quipped about reports that Ronaldo was unhappy with his fellow Portuguese, Ole shot them down instantly. ?This is going to be the headline,? Solskjaer said. ?Bruno has been excellent and Cristiano is probably the one who has scored the most penalties in world football. It is just a missed opportunity to get a point. You will be making all these assumptions on the reactions of players. Bruno is such a good penalty taker and you would back him with your mortgage.?

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Also Read: Bruno Fernandes ?Frustrated? and ?Disappointed? by Manchester United Exit From Carabao Cup