MANCHESTER UNITED 2 (Ronaldo 18, Tevez 45)
MANCHESTER CITY 0
The football in yesterday's Derby will quickly be forgotten. It was far from a classic. It will be remembered for the first time that United started a game without an Englishman, for what is likely to be one of Tevez's last contributions to United and for Ronaldo's trantrum-like behaviour when substituted. The MIrror records the 22 year-old's childish behaviour:
"Snatching at a tracksuit top, shaking his head in dismay and mouthing his displeasure whenever the TV cameras were on him, Ronaldo left noone in any doubt of his anger at being replaced. Publicly, Fergie paid lip service to Ronaldo's reaction, claiming it was good to see players frustrated at being taken off. Privately, however, you can be sure Ronaldo received the full hairdryer treatment from his boss in the dressing-room afterwards."
Ronaldo needs to learn that being at Man Utd means being a team player. Mark Ogden at The Telegraph:
"One of the main planks of United's success in recent seasons has been Ferguson's successful handling of the rotation system. Players are brought in, left out, rested, rotated - call it what you will, but it has worked and that is why United are within sight of retaining the Premier League and Champions League titles. Ronaldo is rested much less frequently than the majority of his team-mates. Even Wayne Rooney has more bench-time than his high maintenance team-mate. But do you reckon that Rooney threw his training top to the floor and sat with a face on in the dressing-room after being told by Ferguson that he wouldn't be starting against City? Did Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs skulk around, muttering under their breath that the manager was out of order to name them on the bench? Probably not. All of the above have bought into the team ethic at Old Trafford, but Ronaldo clearly still considers himself to be a special case."
Ben Smith in The Times worries about the implications for the game of players getting above themselves:
"The Manchester United manager’s authority was challenged by two of his players at Old Trafford yesterday as Carlos Tévez, who is involved in a transfer dispute with the club, raced in his direction and cupped his hands to his ears after he had scored United’s second goal, before Cristiano Ronaldo reacted with petulant display of disgust and anger at being replaced by Paul Scholes in the second half. Can the actions of these players simply be put down to the pressures that come with competing for silverware at the end of the season? Isn't it time that the big clubs and top players took more responsibility for the image of the game?"
A free kick from Ronaldo and a great goal from Tevez won the points. Only four more are needed from the last three games to secure a third successive premiership title. Let's hope Utd can clinch things next Saturday in front of the Old Traffford crowd in the game against Arsenal.
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