EPL

Ronaldo and Maguire dropped by Man Utd for Liverpool clash

By Sports Desk August 22, 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire were both dropped by Erik ten Hag for Manchester United's crucial Premier League derby with Liverpool on Monday.

Veteran forward Ronaldo and club captain Maguire started on the bench against Jurgen Klopp's Reds at Old Trafford, as the Dutchman looked to stimulate his side following a pair of dismal performances to start the campaign.

Ronaldo, arguably United's brightest spark during a turgid 2021-22 campaign, has failed to find the net this term in the wake of a disrupted pre-season that saw him sit out the club's tour of Asia and Australia.

The Portugal international has reportedly been seeking an exit from the club to play Champions League football, though with just over a week until the transfer window shuts, it appears likely he will remain.

Maguire, frequently a scapegoat for the club's struggles last term following a superb 2020-21 season and Euro 2020 performance for England, has meanwhile looked shaky at the back, with United shipping six goals in their first two games.

A home loss to Brighton and Hove Albion was followed by a 4-0 rout at the hands of Brentford, and Ten Hag sought to make corrective action for one of his side's biggest games of the season.

Ten Hag made four changes in total, with Luke Shaw and Fred also dropping out, while Tyrell Malacia, Scott McTominay, Antony Elanga and Raphael Varane were recalled.

Liverpool made three alterations for the trip to Old Trafford, meanwhile, with fit-again Roberto Firmino joining Joe Gomez and captain Jordan Henderson in the XI. Nat Phillips and Fabinho dropped out, while Darwin Nunez served the first of a three-match ban.

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    Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.

    The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.

    Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.

    Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.

    Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.

    Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign. 

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    Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.

    Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.

    Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10. 

  • 'It will happen in a year, two years' - Ronaldo hints at retirement date 'It will happen in a year, two years' - Ronaldo hints at retirement date

    Cristiano Ronaldo says it will be one or two years before he retires from football as he aims to enjoy the end of his career.

    The 39-year-old scored twice on Friday, including a stunning overhead kick, as Portugal cruised past Poland 5-1 in the Nations League, to clinch top spot of Group A1.

    Overall, Ronaldo has now netted 910 times in his career, with 135 of those coming for Portugal, including five goals in five Nations League appearances this campaign.

    Ronaldo has dropped hints in recent months though that his retirement is drawing closer, with his 40th birthday coming up in February, and he says his main goal is to enjoy playing football while he still can.

    "Planning the retirement of football... It will happen in a year, two years, I don't know," Ronaldo said.

    "I say honestly, it's not a joke, it's enjoying the moment, feeling that I'm enjoying football. Get up and go to training and to the game motivated.

    "When I don't feel that, I'll step forward and say, 'I can't do it anymore.' It's an excellent career, I haven't felt it yet."

    He was a standout once again for Portugal as he finished the match against Poland with a game-high 2.06 expected goals (xG), generated from five shots, the most of any player on the pitch.

    Ronaldo hit the 900-goal mark in September, with many believing he would next be targeting 1,000 as another goal in his storied career.

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    "If you ask me if I want to reach a thousand goals... It's normal to want it. But I don't think about it," he added.

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    "It's normal if you go a lot of years without winning, you start losing that feeling. So I think we need to put all the players doing the same thing, to regain that feeling.

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