Erik ten Hag has stated that Manchester United “have to rotate” after replacing Marcus Rashford at halftime in his team’s wild 3-3 Europa League tie away to Porto.
Rashford had been United’s finest player in the first 45 minutes, scoring the first and assisting Rasmus Hojlund’s second as the struggling side stormed into a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes, only to be pegged back to 2-2 by halftime.
It appeared that his primary reason for coming off was an injury, but Ten Hag insisted that it was part of time management, with Alejandro Garnacho, who replaced him, also needing minutes.
“We have to rotate,” United’s manager told TNT Sports. “We have a tough game on Sunday (against Aston Villa) so we need players fit and fresh.”
Ten Hag later stated at a press conference, “Garnacho was my best player on Sunday by far.” We didn’t defend well on the left side, and Marcus is partly to blame. But it was all about Garnacho, nothing against Rashy.”
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The gambit did not pay off for the under-pressure United manager, who saw his side go down 3-2 and captain Bruno Fernandes sent off again before Harry Maguire saved a point in extra time.
The encounter featured similar flaws for United under Ten Hag, but he insisted on patience despite the prospect of the sack growing with each game.
“We will get there,” he remarked. “Don’t judge us right now. Judge us at the end of the season. I stated the same thing last season. We are in the process.
“We had three clean sheets not long ago and can defend. We have to return to those habits. Only then will you be able to win games.
“We have two seasons where we reach the finals. Please wait. “We must develop.”
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