Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has claimed that the "emotional" toll of Wednesday's Champions League game with Villarreal played a part in his decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo for the visit of Everton.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner found himself among the substitutes for the Saturday lunchtime kickoff in the Premier League, with Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial both earning starts at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo found the back of the net in the fifth minute of added time to win the day for Man United against Villarreal in midweek, and Solskjaer has now explained the reason behind his absence from the first XI.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the game, Solskjaer said: "Well Wednesday night was a big effort, big emotional and physical output. So we needed to freshen it up, we knew it's an early kick off.
"The start of this game is going to be very important and we've got some very good players coming on as well so we believe it's a team that is going to take charge of the game."
Ronaldo's winner against Villarreal was his fifth from as many games in a United shirt this term, taking his total to the club to 123 goals from 297 games in all competitions.
Ben Knapton
