Dimitar Berbatov, expressing support for Manchester United’s manager Erik ten Hag, endorsed his decision to place Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial on the bench for the match against Chelsea.
Antony and Rasmus Hojlund were brought into the starting lineup in the attacking positions alongside Alejandro Garnacho.
Man United managed to secure a 2-1 victory, with Scott McTominay netting twice in a significantly enhanced team performance.
Despite Rashford and Martial facing widespread criticism for what was perceived as a lack of effort at St James’ Park, ten Hag downplayed their absence,
attributing it to squad rotation rather than any specific reasons related to their performances.
The former Man United striker said:
‘Ten Hag made the decision to drop Rashford and Martial.
The scoreline would tell you that it did pay off.’
‘The fact that the team were running, showing hunger and pressing to get the ball tells you that it paid off too.
In general, dropping Marcus Rashford was the right decision by Ten Hag.
‘We all know that sometimes, the effort isn’t there with some of the players and this is also true for the team.
People have criticised Marcus for the season he’s having – the same goes for Martial.
it all comes down to consistency and eventually the manager will take the necessary steps.’
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‘We know Ten Hag loves his discipline. Of course, he’ll give you a chance to prove yourself but at one point he will bench you, as we saw with Marcus last night.’
Patrice Evra also praised ten Hag’s handling of the situation midweek, believing Rashford and Martial could now struggle to regain their places in the starting XI.
‘He put the right players on the pitch and United fans won’t understand if that same team doesn’t play the next game,’ Evra told Amazon Prime.
‘I will understand if it’s an injury, but I think it will be tough for Marcus and Martial to come back in the starting XI.
‘Garnacho had an amazing game, Antony had an amazing game and the work ethic, you can have nothing negative to say about those players.
‘So I hope this team will stay [as it is] and it’s going to be tough for Marcus and Martial and they will have to fight to get their places back because the kids played very well today.’
