Cristiano Ronaldo Expected To Start In Europa League Match, Says Manager

Manchester United and its fans are experiencing a great run of success over the past two weeks and it now appears that manager Erik ten Hag is ready to have Cristiano Ronaldo start for their side.

A day ahead of their UEFA Europa League match against Real Sociedad, Ten Hag made his intentions about Ronaldo's role public during the press conference.

"He (Ronaldo) started against Brentford. Then not since but he is ready to start, yeah," ten Hag mentioned.

"Maybe I cannot keep them all happy every game but everyone gets their game-time if they perform well, it's quite clear. But what I say, we need everyone - we have a lot of games to cover. There is a lot coming in front of us."

Manchester United started the 2022-23 English Premier League season in disappointment after dismal losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and then Brentford, with fans worrying about how they will perform against rivals Liverpool.

The first big shocker of the season happened then as youngsters Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford led the Red Devils to a 2-1 victory as Ronaldo was relegated to the bench and only came on at the 86th minute.

The trend of Ronaldo acting as a "super sub" continued in their wins against Southampton and Leicester, but the biggest shocker was yet to come.

Manchester United was certainly boosted by the debut of Brazilian winger Antony after transferring from Dutch club Ajax and was a crucial piece of the puzzle in downing league leaders Arsenal to the tune of a 3-1 victory on their home field.

With momentum fully on their side, the Red Devils will want to perform even better against Real Sociedad as a victory then can solidify their standing in the eyes of their fans.

Ten Hag also spoke about Rashford's performance thus far and acknowledged that although the 24-year-old is nearing the end of his contract, he is expecting him to stick around.

"It starts with happiness, he really is coming in every day, enjoys it, he's really smiling. ... I don't think he is out of contract, I think (Manchester) United controls the situation."

Rashford is expected to continue having a prominent role in the Manchester United offense moving forward as ten Hag has seen something special in him being a part of their counter-attack heavy tactics.

Though the club still has a ways to go before they fully convince their fans that they can win it all in the English Premier League, there are seeds of hope being planted with how they have played recently.