Cristiano Ronaldo's refusal to come on for Manchester United against Tottenham was wrong, but Erik ten Hag is to blame for the Portuguese striker's awkward situation, according to Rio Ferdinand.
Ronaldo walked down the tunnel before full-time in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Tottenham, a game in which United produced arguably their finest performance in more than a year.
Ten Hag vowed to "deal with" Ronaldo the following day and United subsequently released a statement confirming the 37-year-old was to be dropped for Saturday's trip to Chelsea as a consequence of his behaviour.
Around a similar time, media reports suggested Ronaldo also refused to come on against Spurs, with Ten Hag confirming that to be the case in Friday's pre-match press conference.
It was the latest example of Ronaldo's future being called into question under Ten Hag; he did not go on United's pre-season tour for personal reasons shortly after it was claimed he wanted to leave for Champions League football, and then he was one of several players to leave Old Trafford early during a friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
The Portugal forward has also routinely looked off the pace when used by Ten Hag this term, yet his former United colleague Ferdinand – who considers himself a "mate" of Ronaldo – says the manager is the issue.
"I wouldn't have been happy as a player," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"Ronaldo mentioned he would have handled things differently. Any emotions attached to it; it takes control. I probably would have been in the queue asking him about it.
"There's always another side to it. When you're dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo, he's Ronaldo. The way of treating him is different to everybody else.
"Communication. That's probably the first time in his life where that's not upheld by the manager.
"I'm not saying he was right but there are special players sometimes in a squad that things work differently for.
"It's important for the team to see that he is communicated with. He's 37. He probably needs that more than ever."
It was put to Ferdinand that the manager's decision should be final and respected, but again the former centre-back questioned Ten Hag's communication, suggesting the situation was simmering after Ronaldo was only introduced as a late substitute in the recent 6-3 defeat to Manchester City.
"I'm preparing myself to play games, communicate that [only playing a few minutes] to me," he continued.
"It was disrespectful to bring [Ronaldo] on against Man City for a few minutes. Foresee this happening before it happens. With the way it's panned out, you can see how a player can react.
"He's my mate, I want him to do well, but I would be on to [Ten Hag] and say, 'What are you doing?'
"If communication isn't there, problems arise."
I’ll relish this’ says Dominic Calvert-Lewin after Everton break their duck
Dominic Calvert-Lewin took a swipe at the Everton boo boys after marking his return from injury with a goal in the 3-1 win at Brentford.
The England striker was jeered by some fans after he went off with a fractured cheekbone during the 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa at the start of the season.
But he showed the Toffees what they have been missing by climbing off the bench to wrap up their first win of the season.
“Football is a funny old game,” Calvert-Lewin told Sky Sports.
“When I came off against Aston Villa my own fans booed me off. Today they cheered me. I’ll relish this and take the rest with a pinch of salt.”
James Tarkowski had headed the Toffees back into the lead against his old club after Mathias Jensen cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener before half-time.
Then Calvert-Lewin grabbed only his second goal since last October when he collected James Garner’s through-ball and slotted home.
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Boss Sean Dyche insisted a vastly improved display had been on the cards for a while despite picking up just one point from their first five matches.
He said: “I don’t think it came from anywhere. The signs have been there but you have to change the storyline, you have to take your chances.
“To come in at 1-1 was a bit of a head-scratcher, so to come out in the second half and be so calm again was very pleasing.
“I’m very pleased with the whole performance. My job is to look at the performances, win or lose. We’ve deserved more but you’ve got to force it and today we did.
“We had a good chat in the week with the players and said it’s us who have to change the story.
“It’s tough playing well and not getting results. That’s where you should grow and have on-pitch maturity and play under pressure and that’s what we did today.”
The Bees, by contrast, were distinctly off-colour and are still without a win at home this season.
Boss Thomas Frank said: “It was a very bad day. Everton deserved to win, we performed badly.
“We performed very well in our first first five games, but today was a bad one.
“It was very unlike this group of fantastic players, but we are good at bouncing back from a bad performance and I expect us to bounce back.”
Joao Cancelo helps Barcelona complete incredible comeback against Celta Vigo
Joao Cancelo’s 89th-minute goal completed an amazing comeback by Barcelona as they scored three times in the final 10 minutes to beat Celta Vigo 3-2.
Rafael Benitez’s Celta put in an excellent display and looked home and hosed as they went 2-0 up after 76 minutes when Tasos Douvikas added to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s excellent first-half goal.
But they succumbed to an incredible late rally that no one saw coming as Robert Lewandowski scored twice in four minutes before former Manchester City defender Cancelo won it with one minute of normal time.
The comeback will paper over the cracks of what was a worrying display for Barca, who were cut open at will by a vibrant Celta side, but Xavi’s men go to the top of the table with the three points.
Benitez will be highly enthused by what he saw from his team, even if they are just one point above the drop zone.
They looked more like the team at the top of the table with an incisive first-half performance, which was rewarded with a 19th-minute lead.
Barca could not clear a corner properly and on the second phase Lucca De La Torre slipped in Larsen and the Norwegian produced a fine shot into the bottom corner with a finish his compatriot Erling Haaland would have been proud of.
They should have led 2-0 five minutes before the break but Marc-Andre Ter Stegen produced a one-handed save to deny Larsen. The rebound fell to Jonathan Bamba and he was primed to score until Oriol Romeu produced a fine block. The danger was still not over as the ball fell to De La Torre, but he blazed over with the goal at his mercy.
Celta thought they should have had a penalty early in the second half as their pace caused a constant threat on the break, but VAR ruled in the hosts’ favour.
There was no escape, though, in the 76th minute as the visitors got their deserved second, which at the time looked to have sealed the points.
They launched a quick counter-attack and Douvikas raced on to Iago Aspas’ perfect pass to convert with a bobbled finish.
But Barca showed, even playing away from the Nou Camp, they can have a fortress in Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys as they produced a fine three-goal salvo in eight minutes.
Lewandowski started things off when he latched on to Joao Felix’s ball and hooked home in off the crossbar.
Three minutes later it was all square as the Poland striker tucked home from Cancelo’s cross.
Cancelo then took stage to win it in the 89th minute when he arrived in the box to convert Gavi’s cross and seal a sixth succesive win in all competitions.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin on target in Everton’s victory at off-colour Brentford
Dominic Calvert-Lewin climbed off the bench to kick-start Everton’s season in a 3-1 win at Brentford.
The England striker grabbed his first goal of the campaign to wrap up a first Premier League win for Sean Dyche’s side.
James Tarkowski had headed the Toffees back into the lead against his old club after Mathias Jensen cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener.
It was a vastly improved display by Everton, although the Bees were not at their best.
They were not helped by a late reshuffle after Kevin Schade limped off during the warm-up and was replaced by Keane Lewis-Potter.
Ashley Young immediately fell foul of a surging Lewis-Potter run, the 38-year-old’s tackle earning him a booking after just 38 seconds, the fastest of the season so far.
But Everton went ahead in the sixth minute after James Garner’s corner was initially cleared.
When the ball was laid back to Garner, the England under-21 midfielder swung in a cross towards Tarkowski.
The former Bees defender knocked the ball down and Doucoure lashed it home on the volley for what was only Everton’s third league goal of the season.
They should have been further ahead, but when Dwight McNeil raced on to Beto’s flick-on he dragged his effort just wide, before Doucoure crashed a shot against the crossbar.
Brentford were uncharacteristically giving the ball away at every opportunity, but when they finally managed to string a few passes together, they equalised.
Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and then Vitaly Janelt fed the ball out to Jensen, who took a touch before lashing his shot across goal and in off the far post.
Everton almost hit the front again when Idrissa Gueye’s through-ball found Beto, who dinked it over the advancing Mark Flekken only to see it float the wrong side of the post.
Then Brentford missed a golden chance to go ahead after Gueye gave the ball away and Lewis-Potter just failed to convert Mbeumo’s cross-shot at the far post.
Dyche sent on Calvert-Lewin for Beto with half an hour to play, but it was Tarkowski who struck first with a towering header from McNeil’s corner.
There was no chance of a muted celebration from the centre-half, who was booed by the home fans throughout, as he gleefully ran off with his fingers in his ears.
Calvert-Lewin, who is finally fit again after a string of injuries, then grabbed only his second goal since last October when he collected Garner’s through-ball and slotted home to secure a much-needed victory.
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