August 23, (THEWILL) – Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, has emphasised that his choice to bench both Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo for Monday’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool was not an indication of his lack of confidence in either player.
After a poor start to the season, Ten Hag bravely decided to bench Ronaldo and Maguire, who are arguably his two most well-known players. The results were emphatic as United romped to a richly deserving victory.
In the final four minutes, Ronaldo, who has asked to leave the team, entered the game. Maguire was an unutilised substitute, as Raphael Varane paired the excellent Lisandro Martinez.
In his post-match comments, the manager said: “I have decisions to make. I have a squad and we have to use the squad. We play 50-60 games, from game-to-game we will see what team we will pick. I don’t have to mention Harry Maguire and Ronaldo, they are amazing players, and they will play a role in the future and the short future as well.”
Prior to kickoff, Ten Hag made the claim that Ronaldo and Maguire’s immobility was the reason for his decision to bench them. They both argued that United needed to press in attack and counter Liverpool’s fluidity at the back. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford’s goals proved that the manager’s risky move paid off.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
