Rio Ferdinand Criticises Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Decision To Keep Ronaldo On The Bench

Rio Ferdinand criticised Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to leave top goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, out of the starting XI as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Everton.

Ronaldo had scored five goals in five games heading into the Premier League clash, including an astonishing 95th-minute winner against Villarreal on Wednesday.

However, Solskjaer is keen to manage the 36-year-old’s workload and explained his benching ahead of kick-off by saying he wanted to “freshen it up” against Everton.

While Anthony Martial opened the scoring just before half-time, United only left Old Trafford with one point after Andros Townsend struck on 65 minutes.

Ronaldo entered the fray a short time before Townsend’s equaliser, but Ferdinand insists the in-form striker could have started, using Tottenham striker Harry Kane and former Manchester City ace Sergio Aguero to illustrate his point.

“I think the big thing is Cristiano has five in five he’s in a rich vein of form,” the Red Devils legend told BT Sport . “Would you see other people take out their top scorer out of a game?

Ferdinand pointed out Ronaldo will have a whole week to rest during the international break before Portugal face Qatar in a friendly and Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier.

The former centre-back added: “He’s (Ronaldo’s) 36 so you’ve got to manage his load but if they had another game on Tuesday or Wednesday, I’d understand and be convinced it was the right decision.

“But for me the question mark is Cristiano’s going on international duty with Qatar and Luxembourg which [are] games he could pick and choose in and rest up a bit. He’s not human.”

Conversely, Ferdinand was disappointed the likes of Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial were unable to secure victory in Ronaldo’s absence after they were handed rare starts against Everton.

“It’s brave, it was a big call to make five changes,” said Ferdinand of Solskjaer’s team selection, adding: “I think you see the reaction of players walking off disappointed with the result and it’s big points dropped.

“On the other hand, they’re bringing in Cavani, Martial, people that score goals big names. They should be able to get it done.”