Manchester United’s decision to start Marcus Rashford on the bench against Leicester when they had no other strikers available has left Rio Ferdinand puzzled, with the former Red Devils defender asking: “How bad must he be in training?”
Ralf Rangnick saw injury and illness rule Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo out of his plans for a home date with the Foxes, with the German tactician opting to field a starting XI with no recognised frontman as Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes sought to provide an attacking spark from deep.
That plan, which previously came unstuck during a derby date with arch-rivals Manchester City, failed to deliver the desired result in a 1-1 draw that saw Rashford – who was left out of the last England squad and has started just one Premier League game since February 12 – given only 35 minutes off the bench.
What has been said?
Six-time Premier League title winner Ferdinand has told his FIVE YouTube channel of Rangnick’s reluctance to use a man with 93 United goals to his name: “What Rashford must be thinking now – wow.
“Maybe there’s a new contract negotiation behind the scenes but if you’re him, you’re thinking ‘how can I stay here?’
“You’re thinking, 'This gaffer does not fancy me. How can I sign this contract when the team would rather play without a striker than play with me?'
“I’m not saying he’s been perfect. If I’m Rashford, I’m thinking this guy doesn’t rate me if he’s going to play two midfielders up front.
“He hasn’t played well enough to be selected if Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani are fit. It’s a different case when he’s going into a game with no striker.
“How bad must he be in training? How badly must he rate him to go into a game like that?”
What did Rangnick say?
United’s interim coach, who is struggling to deliver a top-four finish and Champions League qualification this season, told Sky Sports when asked to explain the thinking behind naming Rashford among his substitutes: “We had to decide between playing Marcus as a striker or Paul Pogba in midfield and we decided to play Paul.
“It’s no secret he was not full of confidence in the last couple of weeks. He has been training with us and in training, he is looking well but as I said, it was the question between Paul and Marcus and we decided to go for Paul.”
Having failed to see off Leicester, who had a late goal ruled out by VAR, the Red Devils find themselves stuck in sixth spot, three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal while taking in two more games than the Gunners.