Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will not be in their squad for Saturday’s Premier League game at Chelsea, the club said in a statement on Thursday.

Ronaldo, an unused substitute in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, walked down the tunnel with a few minutes of the match remaining after being left on the bench again by manager Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag said after the game that he would deal with the matter on Thursday, adding that his focus was on the team.

“Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the Manchester United squad for this Saturday’s Premier League game against Chelsea,” United said.

“The rest of the squad is fully focused on preparing for that fixture.”

Ronaldo’s behaviour on Wednesday drew criticism, with former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel saying the 37-year-old has become a distraction at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo scored 24 goals in all competitions for United last season after joining them for a second spell from Juventus, but the Portugal international has started only two league games this campaign.

A five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo scored his 700th career goal in United’s win at Everton this month, adding another milestone to his glittering trophy-laden career.

Ronaldo, who won three Premier League titles and the Champions League in his first spell with United, helped Portugal win the 2016 European Championship.

He was linked with a move away during the summer transfer window, though Ten Hag said he still featured in his plans for the season.

United are fifth in the Premier League table on 19 points, one behind fourth-placed Chelsea after 10 games.

Former England striker Gary Lineker said Ronaldo’s behaviour took attention away from United’s impressive performance against Spurs. “That is unacceptable,” Lineker said on BBC.

Ronaldo was criticised by his manager in the summer for leaving a pre-season game against Rayo Vallecano at halftime.

Ten Hag described it as unacceptable but later clarified that his comments were not solely aimed at the 37-year-old Ronaldo.

Grind pleases Klopp

Liverpool: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp praised his side’s ability to grind out three points against West Ham United on Wednesday as they backed up their weekend victory over Manchester City.

Darwin Nunez’s header, his first Anfield goal, sealed another 1-0 win for Liverpool who have climbed into seventh place after a troubled start to the campaign.

While Sunday’s success over City was an adrenaline-fuelled belter, the victory against West Ham was less dramatic but equally important for maintaining momentum. Nunez grabbed the headlines but goalkeeper Alisson made a crucial penalty save on the stroke of half-time from Jarrod Bowen, who had been fouled by Joe Gomez.

James Milner also made a crucial late block to deny Tomas Soucek an equaliser.

“In the end, we needed Ali, we needed Millie’s big toe and we needed a couple of things. Overall, I think it is a deserved three points,” Klopp told reporters.

Reuters