Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag has last laugh after unpopular Marcus Rashford decision

Marcus Rashford scored and assisted for Manchester United before being substituted after 45 minutes by Erik ten Hag, who introduced Alejandro Garnacho against Porto on Thursday evening.

Erik ten Hag’s decision to change Marcus Rashford at halftime against Porto surprised many, but the Manchester United manager may have felt justified come full time.

The former Ajax boss had little to chuckle about as his team squandered a two-goal lead thanks to Marcus Rashord and Rasmus Hojlund. After going down, the Red Devils came back to earn a point thanks to Harry Maguire’s late header.

Following the game, Ten Hag confirmed that Rashford was replaced after only 45 minutes to give Alejandro Garnacho more playing time. The Dutchman also mentioned Rashford’s defensive flaws, but said they were not part of his reasoning.

“We need to rotate. “Alejandro Garnacho must play,” Ten Hag reasoned. “We have a big game on Sunday against Aston Villa, 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. However, as I previously stated, it was related to Garnacho rather than 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.”