Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that Marcus Rashford was substituted for rotational reasons in their 3-3 draw with Porto this evening.
Rashford played a big part in Man United taking an early 2-0 lead at the Estadio do Dragao, scoring the first goal, assisting the second for Rasmus Hojlund, and showing plenty of pace to get the visitors on the front foot throughout the first half.
By half time, Porto were back on level terms at 2-2, and Rashford was replaced by Alejandro Garnacho, with many assuming that there may have been a slight injury involved.
Porto quickly took the lead after the interval, but a late Harry Maguire header salvaged a point for the English side in Portugal, despite having Bruno Fernandes sent off with 10 minutes to play.
Ten Hag's surprising reason regarding Rashford sub
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Ten Hag revealed that there was in fact no injury involved, and he was taken off because of the need to "rotate".
In the interview, Ten Hag said: "We have to rotate. Garnacho, we didn't start him, he had a great game, not only Sunday, but the whole season.
"This Sunday we have another hard game [versus Aston Villa], so we need players to be fit and fresh. It's a quick turnaround to Villa." Ten Hag continued.
"[Villa] have a day longer to prepare, we play away, so we want fresh players on the pitch on Sunday."
Ten Hag should have a full complement of attacking options available to him for the trip to Villa Park, and that will include Fernandes, who had his appeal accepted to overturn his suspension after a red card against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
Reaction to Ten Hag's Rashford comments
Given the state of play, and the pressure on Ten Hag at present, his comments about the substitution have not been greeted with much positivity.
Henry Winter called the comments "bewildering", before saying it was a bizarre decision given that Rashford was a constant threat down the left-hand side.
Adam Summerton, who commentated on the game for TNT Sports, took to X (formerly known as Twitter), to say that he was "genuinely open-mouthed" in the Porto press room to hear Ten Hag's reasons for making the half-time switch, and was not the only person in there who shared that view.
Porto right-back Joao Mario, and the rest of his team mates may have been glad to see Rashford replaced at the break, especially as they took the lead just minutes later, and the stats suggest United carried less of a threat in the second period.
Despite taking more shots in the second half, Man United's xG dropped from 1.35 in the first half to 0.68 in the second, much of which came towards the end when they frantically searched for an equaliser.
It may also have been beneficial to Rashford to stay on, after scoring his first goal since the 7-0 win over Barnsley, in order to build his confidence ahead of a huge game at the weekend.
After a fourth game without victory, Ten Hag must hope his half-time decision pays off at the weekend, otherwise the scrutiny over his future will heighten even more.
