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Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has given his take on Marcus Rashford being benched for the match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United came into the Spurs match on the back of a 5-0 thrashing at home against Liverpool. The defense looked in shambles and Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to switch formations going forward.
He opted to play a three-man defensive system, which forced Rashford to warm the bench against Spurs. The English forward was eventually brought on in the second half and responded with a calm finish in the dying embers of the match.
Hargreaves pointed out that Rashford was visibly unhappy with the manager's decision and it showed in his celebration post his goal.
"I think you could see that in his celebration, he was fuming. But when two legends of the game are playing ahead of you it’s hard to complain in a sense. He’s never going to drop Ronaldo, he needed somebody else in there and Cavani was fabulous last season. He probably deserved to start sooner."
Hargreaves added:
"Having Rashford and Greenwood to come off the bench, as much as it will hurt them, maybe right now for the balance of the team, they looked good today and Rashford will get goals coming off the bench, definitely."
Manchester United have moved to a three-man back for the first time this season
One of Solskjaer's biggest philosophies at the club was playing the United brand of football. However, as results took their toll, the Norwegian finally decided to opt against stubbornness and shore up his defense.
He opted for a three-man defense, which saw Manchester United defend the game with seven players on the pitch. Only Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani were given the license to push up.
Speaking about the change in formation, Hargreaves said:
"I think it has to be considering the amount of goals they’ve conceded, it shored them up defensively. But the big question is they’ve got Manchester City at Old Trafford on the weekend."
The former Manchester United star added:
"You’re not going to have much of the ball and you’re going to be quite deep. They defend with seven then Bruno [Fernandes], Cavani and Ronaldo. Is that going to work against City? We’ll see. But I think today was a big step forward."
Manchester United's next test will be in the UEFA Champions League against Atalanta on Tuesday (November 2).
