Rio Ferdinand accuses Erik ten Hag of ‘confusing’ Man Utd star amid selection row

It has been a mixed season for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and his continuing problems have drawn a stinging criticism from Rio Ferdinand over the Dutchman’s management of his squad

Rio Ferdinand has blasted Erik ten Hag for his ‘confusing’ decision to bench Marcus Rashford against Crystal Palace.

Rashford finally broke his goal drought by scoring in the wins over Southampton and Barnsley last week. But for Saturday’s trip to Selhurst Park, boss Ten Hag opted to start Alejandro Garnacho, Joshua Zirkzee and Amad up front.

That left no space for Rashford, with the attacker having to settle for a 29-minute cameo. United were unable to break down Palace and were held to a goalless draw by Oliver Glasner’s struggling Eagles.

And Ferdinand could not understand the decision to bench Rashford just as he was hitting form. While the former defender believes rotation will be crucial this campaign, he questioned the need to bench a player in good form like Rashford.

“Talking of rotation, following the game against Palace, Man United are third in terms of xG, only bettered by Man City and Liverpool. So they’re creating the chances but not scoring the goals,” Ferdinand told his YouTube channel.

“When you’ve got a man in form like Marcus Rashford, who’s coming into a bit of form and momentum which is key for any player and their confidence, I’m thinking is it the right time now to rotate?

“We’re creating chances and you take out the guy who is actually starting to score. I just look at that and think, wow. It was pleasing to see the manager come out and say it was rotation, nothing else, because there was some murmurings around it.

“But Marcus Rashford man, I think he will be sitting there thinking ‘I’ve just hit a bit of form and they’ve taken me out’. That confuses me, it’s confusing. But then again Garnacho has been one of the most productive players and has been causing havoc. And Amad is playing well. So it’s a hard one.”

HAVE YOUR SAY! Did Erik ten Hag make the right decision by benching Marcus Rashford? Comment below.

Boss Ten Hag insisted the decision was one driven by the need to rotate his troops and keep them fresh. The United chief even branded Jamie Redknapp ‘crazy’ after the former Liverpool star claimed something ‘untoward’ had happened.

“I heard already speculation from some pundits – that’s crazy. I would almost say as a person you are not OK when you bring such speculation if you don’t know what’s up. This is just rotation,” Ten Hag said. “And we have many games to cover and we can only start 11 players, but we have to give all the players – if they perform – the chances and finally, of course, we will find out the players who perform better and they will play more.

“But this, it had nothing to do [with this]… I’m very happy with Marcus, with everything – defending, offensive, he scores in this moment and performs very good. So it was nothing to do with why he was on the bench, just rotation.”

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