Manchester United got a valuable three points at Brentford last night, although they can probably count themselves a bit fortunate that the game developed in the way it did.
The home side were utterly dominant in the first half and should have entered the interval a couple of goals ahead, although David De Gea ensured that the teams would be level going into the second 45 minutes.
United were improved in the second half, scoring three well taken goals and coming away with the victory.
Despite the promising attacking signs, one negative in that second period was Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction to being substituted when his side were 2-0 up.
Cristiano Ronaldo was absolute fuming when he was substituted by Ralf Rangnick at Brentford last night...😡 pic.twitter.com/6dzqgum1uR
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 20, 2022
This reaction comes shortly after the Portuguese forward criticised some of the younger members of the squad for their mentality.
Ralf Rangnick revealed after the game that Ronaldo had questioned why he was the one to be substituted, although the side would ultimately go on to nab a third goal.
Speaking on BT Sport after the game, Rio Ferdinand defended Ronaldo, saying that this is one of the things the player's teammates will have to put up with if they have someone of his stature in the dressing room.
"When you've got a player like that in the dressing room, you've got to feed off him"@rioferdy5 believes United's youngsters can learn a thing or two from Ronaldo and defends his reaction after being subbed off against Brentford 👀#PLTonight pic.twitter.com/MeJJwj6Auz
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 19, 2022
I think it's important to listen to what [Anthony] Elanga said afterwards in his interview, that he feels blessed to be on the pitch with Ronaldo, a superstar and a great like him.
They all feed off him. It's important when you're a young players, and I've said it time and time again, when you've got a player like that in your dressing room you've got to feed off it.
I went into a dressing room that was full of winners, full of people that had won multiple league titles and other trophies. I sat there like a sponge, looking at the little details in the way they prepare, sort themselves out after games, get up for games, the way they eat and recuperate.
You've got to take in every single element that is there at your fingertips when you've someone like that.
Yeah he might moan and throw his toys out of the pram, but when you're with someone like that you've got to take everything out of it...
I would bet my life that it was 'it's 2-0 and I want to score goals and goals and goals, build confidence, win for the team, but I want to score goals'. They're taking him off when it's 2-0 and they're there for the taking.
It is true that Ronaldo brings a huge amount of winning experience to the Old Trafford dressing room, although how beneficial outbursts such as last night are to his teammates can certainly be debated.