EPL 2022-23: 'Have to cover 4 games in 10 days' - Ten Hag on substituting Ronaldo vs Newcastle

It was a competitive outing from English giants Manchester United as it settled for a goalless draw against Newcastle United at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday. The draw has not changed the league positioning of both sides, which remain stationed at fifth and sixth, respectively. One of the notable aspects of the draw was Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo being substituted with 20 minutes remaining in the contest, despite him looking on a good touch. Meanwhile, Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag explained that he made the call as the club had to cover four matches in ten days.

After the draw, ten Hag said, "We have to cover four games in 10 days - especially for the strikers I want to keep fresh. I want to keep them all fresh, so we have to rotate there. We have some problems. [Anthony] Martial is not available now, so we have a player less."

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"Then, Rashy was under the weather, so he did not have energy for the whole game, so we have to plan to cover for the four games because we want to win all four games or at least get a result in all four games," added ten Hag. Meanwhile, the Dutchman was disappointed with the match result but was contained with how his side delivered.

"I'm disappointed with the result, but I'm happy with the performance. We transferred many elements of the team, the way of playing on the pitch. We have seen that. The pressing the whole game was good. The second-half possession was better. We improved after half-time," ten Hag explained.

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"Then, you saw we dominate that game in the second half by far and also, in the end, the physical, again the mentality, how we kept going. You saw the problems they had, which is one of the best physical teams in the league. They all had cramps, and we didn't because we let them run because we were good on the ball and our pressing was good," concluded ten Hag.