Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has slammed suggestions that Marcus Rashford was dropped from the starting XI against Crystal Palace for a reason other than simple rotation.
Rashford scored against Southampton in the Premier League last weekend and then hit a brace in an impressive display against Barnsley in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.
The England international was surprisingly not in the starting side against Palace on Saturday, though, with Ten Hag claiming that the forward had been rotated out of the side.
Sky Sports News pundit Jamie Redknapp said ahead of the 0-0 draw: "It feels like something has gone untoward, obviously I don't know the details. But you don't drop a player that's just scored two in midweek and scored against Southampton. It feels something has happened this week."
However, Ten Hag has branded the speculation "crazy", claiming that he is "very happy with Marcus", with the forward introduced in the second half of the goalless draw at Selhurst Park.
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Ten Hag criticises Rashford speculation after Redknapp claim
"I heard already the speculation, some pundits, that's crazy. I would almost say that you as a person you are not ok when you bring such speculation if you don't know what's going on," the Daily Mail quotes Ten Hag as saying in his post-match press conference.
"This is just rotation. This has nothing to do (with Rashford) I am very happy with Marcus with everything – his defending, his offensive part, he scores in this moment. He performs very good. So nothing to do with him being on the bench, just rotation."
Ten Hag said that his side 'ate Palace alive' in the first half of Saturday's clash, but a number of missed opportunities led to the points being shared.
"When we don't win, I'm not content. We should have won. In the first half, we ate them alive. I would say the second half was more of a balance. But in the first half, we should have scored one or two goals," the manager added after the contest in London.
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Ten Hag claims Man United 'ate Palace alive' in first half
"I think we played very good and had total control of the game. In and out of possession, I think we played very good. The only thing was in the box and in the box is always where the game is decided. We should be more clinical.
"There is always one chance [for the opposition] and they got the chance in the 44th minute - it was a big chance they got. One mistake leads to a big chance for them. At the time, we should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up.
"In Brighton, we should have drawn or even win the game there, so we lost three points. Today, we also probably lose two points because of the first half, but the thing is that we don't lose this game in the end."
Man United have now kept three clean sheets in a row in all competitions, and their attention will switch to Europe next week, welcoming FC Twente to Old Trafford in the Europa League.
The Red Devils, who are 11th in the Premier League table, will then continue their domestic campaign at home to Tottenham Hotspur next Sunday.
Matt Law
