Marcus Rashford was one of the players who was left out of the Starting XI and the team played with Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Antony up top.
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Manchester United produced arguably their best performance of the season during the 2-1 Premier League win over Chelsea in midweek. While the scoreline might make it sound like a tight match, however, the reality was far from it. United were miles ahead of the Blues in terms of the performance. The Red Devils were excellent both with and without the ball on the night. Understandably, the team received plenty of praise following that result.
However, Marcus Rashford was one of the players who was left out of the Starting XI and the team played with Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Antony up top. With all three doing their jobs impressively, it will be difficult to see how Rashford can break into that front three again in the near future. Ahead of the Premier League contest against Bournemouth, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was asked whether there has been a reaction from Rashford for not being included in the playing XI against Chelsea.
“Rashford is an incredibly good player. You can’t do it with 11 players. Also, he can’t play every game. He is not, in this moment, in the form he was last year but I am sure he will get there,” ten Hag, quoted on the club’s website, said. When asked how difficult would it be for Rashford to get back into the lineup following such a brilliant performance by other players up top against Chelsea, the manager replied, “What I said about Scott McTominay, what I said about Harry Maguire, it’s up to them. So, finally the team will always line themselves up. The best players who form the best team, who constructs the best team, they will play.”
Notably, in the summer, it was not clear whether Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay were part of United’s future plans. However, the way they have turned their fortunes around to be an important part of the team’s setup so far has been impressive. “I think we have a squad and in that squad, there is internal competition, and if you want to have a successful season, you need more than 11 players. In every season, it will turn, what is the best team. They are here, they are great players and they played themselves in[to] the team. So, that is what you expect from every player, this has to be the dedication from every player, to aim for this,” he stated.
Despite the criticism Man United have received this season, they are currently sixth in the league table with 27 points, only three points behind fourth-placed Manchester City. “We know where we are going and we had our setbacks, especially at the start of the season, a lot of things went against us – with injuries, with decisions. Smetimes as a team you find yourself in such a place and you have to deal with it,” he explained.
The manager added: “Then you have seen the character of the team. But we fought back, and I think we are now in a better place. We are in better form, you see the performances are increasing, we are improving as a team and as individuals. You see you get a stronger belief, but we also know we have to be very sharp in every game because we also know that this league is very competitive. You see it in the recent results, this week as well. Everyone kills everyone, so you need to be ready for every game.”
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