As Cristiano Ronaldo benched vs Chelsea; Fans say 'never a good idea to bench him'

Manchester United's caretaker manager Michael Carrick made a bold decision on Sunday as he benched five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Chelsea clash.

Netizens were taken by surprise as their talisman was amongst the substitutes in a must-win game after several poor results in recent times. The Red Devils have lost three of their previous four Premier League games, including a humiliating 5-0 loss against arch-rivals Liverpool at home.

Netizens react as Cristiano Ronaldo benched against Chelsea

Michael Carrick explains the decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo from starting 11

While speaking to Sky Sports in his pre-match interview, Michael Carrick said:

"A few tweaks and changes to freshen things up, of course, Cristiano is the standout name, but it’s just a game plan and idea. I had a good chat with Cristiano, we decided to go with that. 

It’s a decision to pick a team, to be honest, I don’t think it needs more than that. Everybody has been terrific, Cristiano included, he’s ready to come on if needed to come and win the game. We’ve come with a plan, we’re happy with the team we’ve picked and we’re looking forward to the game.

That’s your opinion [that the United line-up is designed to stop Chelsea], we’ve come here looking forward to the game and trying to win the game. It’s a tough game, obviously, Chelsea are playing ever so well. A great run of games and some massive results, but it’s one we’re relishing. We’ve had a good week considering the situation. 

We had two games to prepare the team, me and my staff, that’s the ideas we’ve got and the plan we’ve gone with."

Chelsea vs Manchester United starting 11

Chelsea: Mendy, Chalobah, Rüdiger, da Silva, Jorginho (c), Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, James, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Ziyech

Manchester United: De Gea, Bailly, Lindelöf, Wan-Bissaka, Telles, McTominay, Matic, Fred, Bruno Fernandes (c), Sancho, Rashford