Michael Carrick says Cristiano Ronaldo's professionalism during Manchester United's draw at Chelsea was 'perfect', despite his demotion to the bench.
Ronaldo started the game as a substitute and embarked on a warm-up in the first-half before emerging at half-time to warm-up again with teammates Diogo Dalot, Jesse Lingard and Mason Greenwood.
United appeared to be preparing for Ronaldo to come on even before Jadon Sancho scored in the 50th minute and the Portuguese eventually replaced Sancho in the 64th minute.
Ronaldo headed straight down the tunnel at full-time after the 1-1 draw but Carrick was keen to emphasise how encouraging United's top scorer was throughout the afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
"There are a lot of things you have to take into consideration when you make a decision on picking a team," Carrick explained. "Some players bring things to the table, other players bring other things to the table. You have fitness, tiredness, freshness, there are tactics, there’s personality and character within that.
"It seems like it is a big decision but really, between us and me personally, it wasn’t. You can ask Cristiano, the way he responded was perfection really. Around the dressing room he was incredible, he supported the players. I went in to do my half-time team talk and he was warming up 10 minutes in advance, ready to come on in the second-half.
"I think a lot can be made of it and spinning it in a negative way but behind the scenes the reality is very different.
"You said it (Ronaldo's lack of pressing)’s a myth, so maybe it is a myth. Maybe that is how it is. He has played in enough teams down the years, Cristiano, and has been successful to play a variety of ways, and has kept scoring goals for every team he has played for.
"So I am sure he will continue to score goals. I have no doubt about that."
