Ralf Rangnick was not overly concerned about Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction to being substituted in Manchester United's 3-1 win at Brentford.
United claimed their first Premier League victory of 2022 on Wednesday, with Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford getting the goals before a late Ivan Toney consolation.
The visitors were fortunate to not trail at the break but produced a hugely improved display in the second half, with Ronaldo playing a part in Greenwood's goal as he chested the ball into Bruno Fernandes' path before he squared to the 20-year-old.
Greenwood and Ronaldo were withdrawn nine minutes later, with Rashford and Harry Maguire entering the pitch as Rangnick changed to a back five.
Ronaldo appeared annoyed as he headed off and that displeasure continued to emanate after sitting in the dugout, the striker seen seemingly asking Darren Fletcher why they had chosen to withdraw him.
In the aftermath of Rashford's goal, Rangnick could be seen having a word in Ronaldo's ear, the situation appearing to be defused.
"It's normal, as a striker he wants to score goals," Rangnick told BT Sport before going on to explain his decision.
"He came back from a little injury, so for me, it was also important to bear in mind we also have another game in three days' time.
"On the other hand, we were 2-0 up, the same score as at Villa Park, and I decided to make sure we defended that lead this time and I think it was the right decision to switch to a back five.
"We scored the third goal, we would have wanted to keep the clean sheet but unfortunately we didn't manage that, but at least we made sure nothing more happened."
United were indebted to David de Gea's performance as he made seven saves over the course of the match, increasing his season total to 81 – 11 more than any other Premier League goalkeeper.
The Spaniard's form has been exceptional this season, with his 6.2 'goals prevented' being the best figure among keepers in the top flight.
Rangnick acknowledged United fell well short of expectations in the first half, before paying tribute to De Gea's brilliant form.
Asked if he had to get tough at half-time, Rangnick said: "I wouldn't say a strong conversation [was had] but obviously we had to change a few things.
"In the first half we were not good in almost all aspects of the game: sloppy passing, not strong enough in the 50:50 situations, we gave away almost every second ball.
"Then in the second half we were more urgent, attacking them higher up the pitch and making the right decisions when on the counter, and we scored – this was the big difference."
On De Gea's display, he added: "He's been doing that for the last couple of weeks. Brilliant saves in the first half, [he's] one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now I'd say."
Victory for United moved them on to 35 points, level with Arsenal in sixth, though the Gunners have played one match less.
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Amorim will 'change the energy' at Man Utd, says Fernandes
Ruben Amorim has been backed to "change the energy" at Manchester United by club captain Bruno Fernandes.
Amorim officially took the reins as United head coach on Monday, with Ruud van Nistelrooy having served as interim boss after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.
The 39-year-old enjoyed a wildly successful four-year spell in charge of Sporting CP, which began in March 2020, two months after the Lisbon giants sold Fernandes to United.
Amorim delivered two Primeira Liga and two Taca da Liga trophies during his time at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, recording a 71% win rate through 231 matches at the helm (164 wins, 34 draws, 33 losses).
In the Primeira Liga, they won 77% of their games under him (120/156), the best win ratio of any team across Europe's top 10 leagues since he took charge.
Amorim's first game in charge of United will be a Premier League trip to Ipswich Town on November 24, and Fernandes has faith that he can change their fortunes.
"I hope he does the same here because you know sometimes a person can change the energy of a space, if it's the right moment," Fernandes told United's media channels.
"We hope this is the right moment for him to come and bring his energy, bring his qualities and his knowledge of football, because he's done something really, really special at Sporting.
"If someone doubts that, it's about just looking at the past. Sporting was to be about 20 years without winning the league, and he got back to win the league, and he won it two times in four years with a really youthful team, in a moment of change.
"So hopefully he can do the same here for us and [hopefully] it's going to be a successful time for all of us."
Amorim will become the youngest coach to lead United since a 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge of them on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County, and Fernandes believes one of his main strengths is his man-management style.
"Obviously for me, what stands out as I said to you is the connection he has with the players," Fernandes added.
"I've seen many, many moments where players were struggling and he kept his faith in them. He always goes to the press conference and defends his players.
"He had a really youthful team so they needed that and hopefully when he comes here he can do the same again with the youth.
"Us players with the most experience, we have to help him to get that and get the best out of every player at this club."
Malacia makes Man Utd comeback after 17 months out
Tyrell Malacia made his injury comeback after a 17-month spell on the sidelines, returning for Manchester United Under-21s against Huddersfield in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.
Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.
The 25-year-old made 39 appearances in all competitions for United after signing in the 2022-23 season, but has not featured for the first team since.
He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.
Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.
Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.
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