Erik ten Hag has made the astonishing revelation he kept Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the Manchester derby 'out of respect for his big career'.
The 37-year-old Portuguese superstar was named among the substitutes for Man United's trip to the Etihad Stadium, but he did not feature as the hosts ran out 6-3 winners.
Man City went 4-0 up in the first half with two goals each from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland. Both added an additional goal in the second half to secure their hat-tricks.
While Antony scored a fine strike, and Anthony Martial came off the bench to score a brace himself, Ronaldo was clearly frustrated at not coming on at any stage of the match.