“Cristiano Ronaldo? They often ask why he is a sub. It’s the million dollar question. I thought it was better for this match to use the players I used,” Santos said.
“It has nothing to do with Cristiano’s qualities, they are not even up for discussion. It’s a question of technical and tactical options and we thought this was the best solution for the way we wanted to approach the game. We believed he could come on in the second half and control the game.”
The 37-year-old Ronaldo came in after more than an hour. His team was then 1-0 behind. Ricardo Horta equalized in the 82nd minute in Sevilla.
Ronaldo scored 24 goals in all competitions for Manchester United last season.