Man Utd verdict: Stroppy Ronaldo forcing Greenwood into his shell with tantrums when he should be mentoring wonderkid

CRISTIANO RONALDO has been very big on attitude this week – maybe he should practice what he preaches.

Let’s just say he was not a shining example of what a team needs during this vital encounter in the battle for fourth place and qualification for next season’s Champions League.

He is very big on playing the blame game when things aren’t going well, both on and off the pitch.

Take this match against West Ham.

It took only four minutes for him to start flapping his arms at 20-year-old Mason Greenwood, a striker who is in much need of a bit of confidence at the moment.

His mistake had been to rely on his own instinctive two-footed goalscoring talents by cutting inside and having a shot.

It didn’t come off, it was charged down

But did it really need Ronaldo flinging his arms out gesticulating that the ball instead should have been passed to him.

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Greenwood tried another shot at goal in the ninth minute which didn’t find it’s target.

This time Ronaldo raised an arm in the air to say he should crossed it deep for him.

Then again in the 15th minute Greenwood chipped a ball forward, but Ronaldo signalled he wanted it to his feet.

It had been a lively opening from Greenwood getting on to the ball but from that moment he went into his shell.

Ronaldo is supposed to be encouraging, setting the example.

What an example that was when he was hauled off against Brentford midweek and had a very public strop.

Look again and see Greenwood watching on with a curious expression from the back of the dug out having been hauled off himself earlier.

Ronaldo has been making some of the younger players feel intimidated.

They are wary to trust their own instincts in case they make or mistake, scared not to pass to Ronaldo for the reaction they might get, and Greenwood got.

But Ronaldo does not save his visible displeasure just for easy targets like Greenwood.

There was moment just short of the half hour when a ball had been cleared by West Ham and Harry Maguire thumped a header back forward.

Ronaldo was in an offside position so the header was wasted.

Ronaldo gesticulated to Maguire to calm it down. He should apparently have just controlled the ball and kept possession.

The problem had actually been the fact that Ronaldo had just ambled back. Had he been more alert and run back to an onside position he could have taken advantage of the header and turned towards goal.

Following that Ronaldo interview about attitudes, there were calls for the armband to be taken off Maguire and handed to Ronaldo.

This game suggested it should stay on the arm of the £80million centre-back.

This was a big test for Maguire.

He had been on the bench for the last two games after missing out through injury.

Manager Ralf Rangnick explained to him ahead of the Brentford game that Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane had just looked too good as a partnership for him to regain his place.

He got it back against The Hammers, with Lindelof given time off following a break-in at his house, so the pressure was on.

Maguire was superb reading through balls, moving forward to intercept, timing his headers and tackles – well apart from when he brought Jarrod Bowen down and saw him booked.

Time and again he would anticipate situations move forward and win those high balls.

He fell on one occasion and looked to be feeling that rib, but he plays on.

Sometimes he puts himself forward and plays on even when not fit, and his own personal performances can suffer but that is how he is.

He is a captain.

This win was every much down to him as that injury time winner from Marcus Rashford, someone else finding form again.

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