Coach Fernando Santos of Portugal insists Solskjaer does not know how to use Ronaldo.
Ronaldo came on from the bench in the match against Everton
Since the beginning of the season, Ronaldo has scored 5 goals for Man Utd in all competitions. This is not a bad achievement for a 36-year-old striker, but coach Ole Solskjaer is still criticized for not knowing how to use the Portuguese striker. Portugal coach Fernando Santos insists Ronaldo needs to play regularly at high intensity instead of being put on the bench as Solskjaer did.
Before the match against Qatar last night, coach Santos said: “Ronaldo will play against Qatar because he needs game time. That’s important for him at this stage. Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes against Villarreal on September 29, so if he only played against Luxembourg, he would actually have 15 days without playing at high intensity.
At this point, I can only say that Ronaldo will be in the match against Qatar, maybe starting or in the second half, thereby giving him the best pace for the match against Luxembourg.”
Coach Santos kept his promise, Ronaldo appeared in the starting line-up against Qatar. The 36-year-old striker scored the opening goal to help Portugal win 3-0 against the host of the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo and his teammates still have a match against Luxembourg at dawn on October 13 to end this international series. As coach Santos said, Ronaldo will definitely play even though Luxembourg is just a small team.
Before the October international series, Ronaldo was put on the bench by Solskjaer in a 1-1 draw with Everton. The Norwegian military leader explained that he wanted Ronaldo to rest after playing completely in the match against Villarreal a few days earlier.