Former Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard has said the players he believes will blossom now that Ronaldo has left the club.
After United’s win over Forest, Howard, who is now a sports analyst for NBC, mentioned Bruno Fernandes: “Before Ronaldo came, he was the leader. He was scoring goals, he was on top of the referee, he was loud”.
United returned to Premier League action last night for the first time since Ronaldo’s explosive interview and eventual contract termination following his comments about the manager and the club.
He continued: “He went into his shell while Ronaldo was here. This is what we are going to see again, this is his team, Casemiro’s team. This is what we need to see from them.”
Casemiro was named man of the match, while Fernandes also put in a good game, creating chances down the road.
Fellow commentator Robbie Mustoe believes the United youngster will “thrive” now that the Portuguese star is gone.
The Forest game saw goals from Anthony Martial, Fred and Marcus Rashford who is back to his best!
“I think for many reasons younger players thrive without that little pressure of wanting the ball all the time.”
“He wants to do the racing and I have to play around him, he has to be the main man. They’re enjoying not having that.”
However, despite Red’s convincing win, Mustoe was unimpressed by two United stars: Martial and Antony.
Speaking of Antony, he said: “It’s great to be here to see it in person, a couple of small movements, but again I struggled to make an impact.”
“There will be games for him,” he continued. “Maybe he’s going to need a little more time, so there are some parts that need to improve, but the overall picture looks very good.”
United sit fifth in the Premier League table, just one point behind Spurs as they head into the new year.
