5 things noticed from Man Utd training ground picture celebrating Cristiano Ronaldo
It proved to be a night to remember for Cristiano Ronaldo after he scored his 700th club goal in Manchester United’s 2-1 win at Everton on Sunday.
The 37-year-old netted the winner on the stroke of half-time as the Red Devils came from behind to record their fifth win from six Premier League matches. Erik ten Hag decided to name Ronaldo on the bench but he was needed in the 29th minute, when Anthony Martial had to come off with a hip injury, giving the five-time Ballon d’Or winner a chance to show why he should be in the starting XI.
He took the opportunity with both hands and tucked home his second goal of the season and the 700th of his club career. On Monday, the United squad celebrated the No. 7 at the club’s training ground with a picture of the forward holding up a shirt with 700 on the back while surrounding by teammates.
There were a couple of first-team members missing from the image, however, as United prepare to host Omonia Nicosia on Thursday night – a week after beating the same opposition in Cyprus. So, with that in mind, here are five things noticed from the training ground picture.
Sancho absence
After starting United’s first seven Premier League games, Sancho was dropped for their trip to Merseyside after struggling for form in recent weeks. The 22-year-old wasn’t at his best at the Etihad Stadium and in United’s trip to Cyprus in the Europa League, Ten Hag made the decision to play Anthony Martial, leaving Sancho on the bench.
Interestingly, Sancho was not present in the photo United posted on their social media channels. It remains to be seen why the former Borussia Dortmund man wasn’t in the image, but he may have picked up an injury which led to his removal from the United side that faced Everton.
Antony beaming
What a start it has been to life in Manchester for Antony. The 22-year-old became the first United player to score in their first three Premier League matches for the club with a fine finish at Goodison Park, before producing an all-round excellent performance on the right wing.
He is already a firm fan-favourite amongst the United faithful and looked in a delightful mood when celebrating Ronaldo’s landmark strike in the United squad photo. Antony was sat just in front of the former Real Madrid star, with his right arm on his right knee, and it seems like he is enjoying his time at Old Trafford following his summer move from Ajax.
Martial involved
There was another scare for Martial after he was substituted on the half hour mark at Everton – another huge blow for a player who has suffered so much with injuries this season. The Frenchman had shown some promise by scoring twice off the bench in the Manchester derby and netting another goal at Omonia.
However, Martial’s injury may not be as bad as first feared, as the 25-year-old was able to feature in Ronaldo’s celebratory photo. He was spotted peeking above Anthony Elanga towards the left of the photo, and although he didn’t look best pleased to be there, it could be a positive sign that he was standing with his teammates.
No Jones
Having been completely frozen out of the first-team picture by Erik ten Hag, Phil Jones, like Sancho, was another player not in the United squad photo. The injury-prone defender was ruthlessly kicked out of the Red Devils dressing room last month to free up space for new signings such as Antony, Casemiro and Martin Dubravka.
Jones has since been demoted to the Under-21s alongside Brandon Williams, Teden Mengi, Axel Tuanzebe and Shola Shoretire. This could be a reason why Jones wasn’t included in Ronaldo’s celebratory picture, although Williams did make it into the image despite not playing for the senior team since pre-season.
Ronaldo taking the glory
It has been some journey for Ronaldo and he no doubt deserves all the credit and praise he is getting. The forward started his career at Sporting Lisbon and made a name for himself in his homeland by scoring five senior goals in 33 matches. That was enough for United to buy him aged just 18 for a fee in the region of £12million.
Ronaldo’s career took off from there and he will go down as one of football’s greatest-ever players, scoring 144 goals at United, 450 at Real Madrid and the other 101 at Juventus. He was at the centrepiece of the photo United published, looking suitably overjoyed with his incredible achievement.
