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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has accused Erik ten Hag of confusing Marcus Rashford after leaving the player out of his starting XI during last weekend’s clash against Crystal Palace.
United were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park.
Despite creating numerous clear-cut goalscoring opportunities, United failed to convert any of them and as a result, they were forced to share the spoils with the Eagles.
One of the major talking points was Ten Hag’s decision to bench Rashford in favour of starting Alejandro Garnacho.
There was speculation that the move could have been because of another disciplinary breach on the player’s part but Ten Hag refuted such suggestions in his post-match remarks, as he insisted that he just wanted to rotate.
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer still suspected that there was a breakdown in Ten Hag’s relationship with Rashford despite the United’s boss’s assertion that this was not the case.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand admitted that he could not understand the decision to bench Rashford just as he was hitting form.
The ex-United defender remarked, “Talking of rotation, following the game against Palace. United are third in terms of xG, only bettered by Man City and Liverpool. So they’re creating the chances but not scoring the goals.”
“When you’ve got a man in form like Marcus Rashford, who’s coming into a bit of form and momentum which is key for any player and their confidence, I’m thinking is it the right time now to rotate?”
“We’re creating chances and you take out the guy who is actually starting to score. I just look at that and think, wow. It was pleasing to see the manager come out and say it was rotation, nothing else because there were some murmurings around it.”
He added, “But Marcus Rashford man, I think he will be sitting there thinking ‘I’ve just hit a bit of form and they’ve taken me out.’ That confuses me, it’s confusing.”
Ferdinand however also noted that it’s understandable why Ten Hag sought to give Garnacho more minutes, considering his impact from the bench.
“But then again Garnacho has been one of the most productive players and has been causing havoc. And Amad Diallo is playing well. So it’s a hard one.”
All eyes will be on Ten Hag on Wednesday night to see whether or not he restores Rashford to the starting lineup as his side meet FC Twente at Old Trafford.
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