Gary Neville agrees with Erik ten Hag's Cristiano Ronaldo decision during derby defeat to Man City

Manchester United's sobering derby day defeat to Manchester City shined the spotlight on a number of issues for Erik ten Hag's side.

They were simply blown away in a 6-3 loss to Pep Guardiola's side, with the side effectively dead and buried at 4-0 down at half-time. Despite salvaging a modicum of pride after the break it wasn't enough to save the players or the manager from criticism.

One aspect that pundits and fans picked up on was the non-selection of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese has endured a frustrating campaign at United and Sunday's game saw him in the unusual position of being an unused substitute.

It continues his poor record in the Premier League with just one start so far.

READ MORE: Ten Hag explains why Ronaldo did not come on against City

Following the game United boss Erik ten Hag claimed he refused to bring on Ronaldo out of "respect for his big career". But that led to Piers Morgan, a prominent critic of United, taking to Twitter to chastise Ten Hag's decision.

Morgan wrote: "Imagine benching @Cristiano (Ronaldo) for Utd’s biggest game of the season, then using 5 other subs as they’re hammered into oblivion, & then claiming you did it ‘out of respect’ for him? Ten Hag is an arrogant deluded twerp & the way he’s treating Ronaldo is disgraceful."

But Ten Hag found a high-profile supporter, with ex-United defender Gary Neville backing the Dutchman's decision.

Neville responded by quote-tweeting Morgan, writing: "I get his (Ten Hag's) point to be honest. Bringing him (Ronaldo) on at 4-0 and 6-1 would have been an insult . ETH may not have delivered the line correctly and probably would have been best not saying it. (although I like his honesty)."

READ NEXT:

Extra gym sessions, steak meals and more -