The past few weeks have seen seriously impressive performances from Manchester United. The Reds had a poor start to the season, dropping their first two matches of the campaign to Brighton and Brentford. However, they have bounced back nicely, winning their last four Premier League matches. The recent success, which includes victories over Liverpool and Arsenal, has come despite the fact that talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has been benched for every one of those games.

Because Ronaldo needed additional time off to deal with a family matter, the veteran striker was excused from United's preseason tour in Thailand and Australia. Instead, Ronaldo spent his time away from the club in Thailand and Australia. As the preseason came to a close, he was supposed to reunite with the rest of the team, but instead, he was working out at Portugal's training facility, the Cidade do Futebol, while rumors about his future continued to circulate.

The Portuguese international played for 45 minutes before being replaced by Amad Diallo in his only appearance for the Reds prior to the start of the new season against Rayo Vallecano. This was his only appearance for the Reds before the start of the new season.

As a result, Ronaldo was placed on the bench for the team's opening day loss to Brighton, but he was given the nod to start the following week when the Bees were the opponents. It was obvious that the 37-year-old player was nowhere near match-fit despite the fact that his performances, along with those of a number of his teammates, left a lot to be desired.

His performances were a clear indication that he had not participated in an adequate preseason campaign, and Erik ten Hag had already expressed his opinion regarding the significance of the teams' preparation for the upcoming season.

Before training, Erik Ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo joke around with one another.

During the first team training session for Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag and Cristiano Ronaldo joke around before and after the workout, as well as at other times.

The manager of Manchester United said the following in reference to Ronaldo's absence from the pre-season earlier this month: "It is common knowledge that Ronaldo did not participate in the preseason, and it is not possible to skip the preseason.

"It serves as a foundation and, more specifically in the context of the game that we play, the mode of play. In comparison to the previous year, we play a different kind. It is dependent on the requirements, cooperation, and certain positioning [of players], both in and out of position, and fitness is another important factor to consider."

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Ronaldo, who has played seven games so far this season, does not have a goal or an assist to his name just yet, despite the fact that he has made seven appearances. Last week in the Europa League, his team lost 1-0 to Real Sociedad, but in recent weeks in the Premier League, he has been forced to settle for a spot on the substitutes' bench. He started the game in the Europa League match against Real Sociedad.

Raphael Varane, a French defender who won four Champions League titles alongside Cristiano Ronaldo during their time together with Los Blancos, thinks that the striker is playing catch-up and has echoed his manager's claim that "you cannot miss pre-season." Ronaldo is currently playing for Juventus, where he has not participated in preseason.

This past week, during an interview with TCL Global, he stated the following: "As was mentioned earlier, Ronaldo is present. And we are all aware that he did not participate in the preseason. You cannot miss pre-season. It serves as a base.

"In particular with regard to the game that we play and the manner in which we want to play it. There is no way to compare how we play this year to how we played the year before because our style of play has changed.

"Cooperation is required, as is a certain positioning within and outside of possession in order to accomplish this. The other factor is his level of physical fitness."

In a previous interview, Scott McTominay also discussed the significance of having a successful pre-season in preparation for the 2021/22 season.

He stated the following on the official website of Manchester United: "The majority of the work that you put in during the offseason is very important, and it will be absolutely necessary for the rest of the season.

"We will not be able to continue to practice in this manner throughout the season. This has been a really good opportunity to nail down the finer details that will be put into practice this season, and it has allowed us to continue making progress toward being prepared for the beginning of the season."

David De Gea, another senior star for Manchester United, spoke out about the issues the team had with players reporting for duty late during the previous campaign. He did so while he was away on the club's preseason tour of Asia and Australia this summer, while Cristiano Ronaldo remained at home. Ronaldo's absence allowed De Gea to comment on the matter.

He stated to The Athletic as follows: "We needed a more football-centric culture, one in which our thoughts were solely focused on the game and nothing else. Of course, you cannot be late. People who have jobs that require them to be on time cannot be late."

Ronaldo eventually participated in his first preseason match on July 31, when United drew 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano. This was more than two weeks after his teammates had reported for duty.

Although it is not yet known what will take place with Ronaldo during the month of January's transfer window, it would appear that the 37-year-old is going to spend some time on the bench in the foreseeable future. Although his teammates and manager will undoubtedly continue to show their support for him, it is undeniable that his pre-season performance, or lack thereof, has had a significant impact on his chances of starting for the Reds.

Ten Hag, on the other hand, believes that Jadon Sancho's "good" pre-season has helped him get off to a strong start to the season. The England winger already has two goals to his name for this campaign.

"I am overjoyed for Jadon Sancho and his success. He did not put a lot of effort into it, but he scored a lot of goals in the preseason, and now he is getting his rewards "Ten Hag said this following their victory over Leicester City just recently.

"He understands he has to invest physically, and that's exactly what he did," said the coach after the player's strong preseason performance.