Erik ten Hag reveals reason Marcus Rashford had to be substituted for Man Utd vs Porto

Marcus Rashford scored and assisted before being replaced by Erik ten Hag against Porto, as Manchester United won a late draw in the Europa League match.

Erik ten Hag justified his decision to hook Marcus Rashford at halftime, after his Manchester United team squandered a chance to win.

United led 2-0 but trailed 3-2 until substitute Harry Maguire rescued a draw with a 91st-minute header after skipper Bruno Fernandes was sent out for a second yellow. Rashford scored United’s opener and set up Rasmus Hojlund for the second, but Ten Hag substituted him at halftime, citing his role in Porto’s goals as part of his reasoning.

When asked why he substituted Rashford at the halftime when he was United’s greatest player, Ten Hag replied, “We have to rotate. Alejandro Garnacho needs to play. We have a difficult game against Aston Villa on Sunday, so we need guys to be fresh.

“I’ll have to watch it again [Porto’s first goal], but I believe we didn’t defend properly tonight, especially on the left side, and Marcus had a role in this. But, like I said, it was about Garnacho and nothing against Rashy.

“We scored two fantastic goals and then switched off. We’re not keeping possession or defending; we’re switching off. We conceded the first goal, which was completely unjustified, and then you start a fire in this stadium, which makes things extremely difficult.

“But I’m not judging us right now. I will evaluate us at the conclusion of the season. We are in the process. Please wait. We need to build this team. We will work and continue. We’ll fight.

“We started the game very well, dominating and scoring two goals, but then we lost control.” The middle was poor, the finish was excellent, but we need to work on our defense.”

Maguire revealed that United’s players convened a dressing-room inquiry following the defeat, saying, “After every game, we evaluate and talk among ourselves. The manager, some of the staff, and the players all talked.

“When you’re 2-0 up away from home, you need to be a little more solid, and there were simply too many holes. There were definitely too many crosses in the box, and they eventually punished us for it.

“It is something we need to concentrate on. It happens way too often. Every time we concede, we have to reset and return to the game strategy that put us in the lead. It is something we must improve. If we want to be successful this season, we cannot continue to concede two goals.”