Cristiano Ronaldo was left ‘bemused’ by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to praise his Manchester United players after a defeat earlier this campaign, according to reports.
Last week’s 4-1 defeat to Watford signalled the end of Solskjaer’s reign at the club and has now forced United to bring in Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis for the rest of the season.
United’s performances under Solskjaer had dipped since the start of the campaign and the team have now been beaten in five of their last seven Premier League matches.
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Ronaldo continued to lead the line during the Red devils’ tough period with 10 goals in 14 games since his return, with Solskjaer becoming reliant on the player’s ability to single-handedly decide games.
But Ronaldo has been alarmed by the club’s drop in standards and The Sunday Times claims that he challenged Solskjaer after they were beaten 2-1 by Young Boys in the opening game of their Champions League group stage in September.
The report claims that Solskjaer told United’s stars that he ‘liked the way they played’ and was ‘really happy’ with their attitude, but Ronaldo was shocked by the Norwegian’s feedback to the team and pointed out that the display was ‘awful’.
United were able to bounce back this week with a win over Villarreal in the Champions League but they face another difficult test this Sunday as they travel to Chelsea.
Michael Carrick will be in charge of the club once again and he has already told United’s players that they still have a chance of a successful season once Rangnick takes over.
‘There’s plenty left in the season, there’s no doubt about that,’ said Carrick. ‘Of course, with where we are in the league and the results we’ve had, it’s frustrating and disappointing, but there’s so much left in the season.
‘The other night was massive to confirm we’ll be in the Champions League and finishing top of the group was huge, giving us something to look forward to.
‘Over time, not just here but other clubs, you have bad spells, sometimes really bad spells, in a season and you can almost have another season within a season when things change. That’s form, that’s football and confidence, it’s how football goes at times. Striving for consistency is always the balance that you want to get. That’s the gold standard.
‘Who’s to say that as a group of players they can’t go on a run again, they’ve proved over the last two or three years that they’re more than capable of going on a run and we’ll see where that takes us. But you need to take it step-by-step and start winning games and getting on a run and build momentum. Anything can happen after that.
