Erik ten Hag to ‘deal with that tomorrow’ after Cristiano Ronaldo storms down tunnel before end of Spurs game

It was an impressive performance – probably the best of the Ten Hag era – but as is often the case, much of the focus was on Ronaldo, who was stationed on the bench. And when he headed down the tunnel before the end of the match, the scrutiny only intensified.

Before the match, Ten Hag had said he understood the Portuguese superstar’s frustration at a lack of playing time, and said he had no issues if Ronaldo vented that in a normal way.

“I think no player is happy when he [is taken] off, and especially not Ronaldo, I understand that,” said Ten Hag. “As long as it is [done] in quite a normal way, [I have] no problem with that.”

However, in the immediate aftermath of the Tottenham match, Ten Hag indicated that he was not happy with Ronaldo’s conduct.

Asked whether Ronaldo had told him he was leaving the pitch early, Ten Hag revealed what happened to Amazon Prime Video Sport.

“He was there, I have seen him, yea, but I did not speak to him after,” began Ten Hag.

Pressed by host Gabby Logan whether that is something he would normally not want to happen, Ten Hag added:

“I will deal with that tomorrow. Not today. We are celebrating this victory and now we must recover.”