Martial and Ronaldo were substitutes versus City.

There is a good chance that Cristiano Ronaldo's name was written on the top of the Manchester United media staff's notepads at the Etihad Stadium as they took notes during the game to preparation for a possible post-match investigation.

Even though United were defeated 6-3 and were trailing 6-1 at one point, Ronaldo's status as an unused substitute was definitely remarkable. This is especially true considering that Erik ten Hag used all five of the substitutions that were available to him.

In the sixth question of Erik ten Hag's press conference, the subject of Cristiano Ronaldo was brought up. The question asked, "I appreciate Anthony Martial coming on, doing well, and scoring twice, but is Cristiano Ronaldo going to be a third-choice striker for you now, going forward?"   Ten Hag remarked, "I wouldn't bring him in because out of respect for Cristiano, for his enormous career." Cristiano has had a very successful career. "And the other thing was the benefit I could provide Anthony Martial, he needs the minutes but I don't want to point it out like that," he said. "And the other thing was the advantage I could bring Anthony Martial."

No matter what Ten Hag had to say in response, a significant number of United supporters and every devoted Ronaldo admirer would have been left wanting more. A source close to Ronaldo responded with a half-joking "Or not!" when it was claimed that the Portuguese superstar must be annoyed because he stayed in the dugout for the game.

Because of this, Ronaldo was spared the humiliation of United's most recent thrashing, which marked the eighth time in their last 38 Premier League matches that they allowed at least four goals to be scored against them. However, it will have intelligence. When Ronaldo was still playing for Juventus in May of 2021, it was the last time he was benched for a game.

Ten Hag gives more playing time to the younger and more adaptable forwards in his squad, which is a frustrating reality for Ronaldo. During the preseason, the attacking triumvirate consisted of Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford. However, Anthony Elanga started in place of Cristiano Ronaldo against Liverpool, Southampton, and Leicester.

Ten Hag has been accused of showing Ronaldo disrespect due to the fact that he respects Ronaldo. After Piers Morgan's mouthpiece commentary on Twitter, Roy Keane raised concerns about how Manchester United has handled Cristiano Ronaldo, and Gary Neville chimed in as well.

It's possible that Ronaldo will be recalled this week, which would force him to make another start on Thursday night in Cyprus. It would not be fitting for one of the game's all-time greats to embark on a roadshow for the Europa League, and Ronaldo may find himself warming another bench on Sunday when he returns to the scene of the crime at Goodison Park.

Ronaldo cheers at the Etihad

The belated and unnecessary charge against Ronaldo brought by the Football Association for smashing an Everton supporter's phone has caused the staff at United to feel hopeless. The investigation carried out by Merseyside police was brought to a close on August 17, and Ronaldo made an attempt to settle the dispute with the mother of the fan. This was an unenlightening and unacceptable turn of events.

It's possible that Ronaldo won't play at Goodison "out of respect" for Everton fans, so he won't have to worry about getting teased. Following headlines about Wayne Rooney's personal life in September 2010, Sir Alex Ferguson decided not to take him with Manchester United to their match against Everton.

As the game was about to begin, Ferguson stated that "We are not going to subject him to the abuse that he gets here." United is aware, based on their recent experiences, that Goodison can be a harsh environment, and that this is especially true after returning from an away match in Europe.

It is more likely that Anthony Martial will start for United against Everton. Martial scored his first goal for United exactly one year to the day after he scored his last goal for City. Already, Anthony Martial has more goals for United this season than he did all of last year combined.

Martial struck for United at City after a year.

Martial has not started a competitive match for United since November but would have if it weren't for injuries he incurred in July and August to his hamstring and Achilles. In the five preseason friendlies that the first team played, in which he led the attack for United and scored three goals, he was instrumental.

In typical fashion, Martial scored his only goal of the previous campaign against Everton. Everton is the only other team he has scored against more than any other, and Rashford's performance against City was further evidence that he is not a center forward. He has scored seven goals against Everton.

Ten Hag has embraced the personal project, which has resulted in Martial's flourishing rather than viewing the Frenchman as an unsellable inconvenience that would hinder the business. The substitution of Anthony Martial at halftime against Liverpool proved to be particularly significant. He pounced on a stray ball, drew the attention of Virgil van Dijk, and set up Marcus Rashford for the game-winning goal.

Now that he is healthy again, Martial will be especially motivated to play well over the next six weeks in order to increase his chances of being selected for France's World Cup squad by Didier Deschamps. He has not advanced past the first cut in either of the two most recent tournaments.

Before Fernandes, Martial took United's penalty.

When it comes to scoring goals, Martial, Rashford, and Elanga are at a disadvantage when compared to Ronaldo. Although he puts in a lot of effort, Elanga has not scored a goal since the month of February. Meanwhile, Martial has only reached 20 goals once in seven seasons, and Rashford has accomplished this feat twice.

On Halloween, Rashford will be 25, and the fact that his best position at United is still up for dispute should frighten them. In December, Martial will be 27 years old and will be celebrating his birthday. They have had their most successful seasons for United when they have been indulged by the same management, although those successes were only short-term and did not result in any trophies.

Any loss is made significantly worse without Ronaldo on the field, as Ten Hag found out the hard way when they played Brighton. Ten Hag is an authoritative figure who can handle the egomaniacs in the dressing room and muffle the noise from the outside, but he has to choose between two want tobe No. 9s who have struggled to shoulder the burden of the role and live up to the number. Ronaldo never has.