Ralf Rangnick explains why Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t take Man Utd penalty vs Arsenal

Ralf Rangnick revealed he confronted Cristiano Ronaldo and asked him why he turned down the opportunity to take a crucial penalty against Arsenal.

The Manchester United superstar made his comeback on Saturday after missing the midweek defeat against Liverpool following the tragic death of his baby son.

Ronaldo helped haul his side back into a contest that looked as though it was rapidly slipping away from them when Bukayo Saka doubled Arsenal’s lead in the 32nd minute.

The 37-year-old, however, almost immediately halved the deficit, poaching the 100th goal of his Premier League career with a typically composed finish.

It looked inevitable that Ronaldo would draw his side level shortly before the hour mark when Nuno Tavares conceded a needless penalty for handball.

Ronaldo beat Aaron Ramsdale from 12 yards in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, but he opted to hand the responsibility to Bruno Fernandes instead.

The Portugal international employed his customary technique, but was left horrified when, having sent the Arsenal goalkeeper the wrong way, clipped the outside of the post.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>When it seems like it just can’t get worse for Man Utd, Bruno Fernandes misses from the spot… Was Aaron Ramsdale’s celebration reminiscent of a certain @martinkeown5 ð pic.twitter.com/66j2orz0jb

‘I spoke with him after the game and asked him,’ Rangnick said of Ronaldo’s decision not to take the penalty. ‘He said he just didn’t feel he should take it and that’s why he said it would be better if Bruno took it.’

Despite another damaging defeat, Rangnick was heartened by a display that could have yielded so much more had it not been for some errant finishing and questionable officiating.

‘Today was better than