Manchester United played out a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
After two wins in their previous two games, one in the Premier League against Southampton and the other in the Carabao Cup against Barnsley, United failed to win for the third game in a row.
The Red Devils created many chances to win the match but their poor finishing was responsible for not winning the match, despite playing well.
The surprise in the team selection was the omission of Marcus Rashford, who had scored for the Red Devils in their previous two wins.
After a slow start to the season, Rashford scored against Southampton and then followed that goal up with a brace against Barnsley.
Erik ten Hag still decided to bench the striker against Palace and only introduced him in the final 30 minutes of the game.
Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer discussed Ten Hag’s team selection for the match against Palace.
At the Rest is football podcast, Lineker said:
“It looks like, reading between the lines, it could be some disciplinary issues because he (Ten Hag) said in his press conference ‘Marcus has to be professional.’
Shearer added:
“Why else would you leave him out? When things have been criticized, and I was one of them, for the performances, but then you get your goal last weekend.
“You’ve got another partner in the middle of the week. Why would you even consider leaving him out? My guess is, and it’s a guess, that it has to be something different.”
Marcus Rashford needs a long run in the Man United team
It is surprising to see Rashford being benched just as he had scored in the previous two games.
The England striker is finally regaining the long-lost form and drive that his game lacked last season.
The Man United manager needs to back him now as he has the potential to lead the club’s goalscoring charts just as he did two seasons ago.
It will be interesting to see what Ten Hag decide next weekend when Man United take on Tottenham.
The Red Devils are currently in 11th place in the league, one place below Tottenham.
