“You want to lose?”, “What’s Ten Hag smoking?” - Manchester United fans question decision to leave 2 players on the bench for Crystal Palace clash

Fans were left disappointed with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag benching key players Marcus Rashford and Manuel Ugarte for their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace on Saturday (September 21).

Ten Hag opted for a classic 4-2-3-1 formation to face Crystal Palace. Andre Onana guards the goal, with Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui forming the defensive line-up.

Cristian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo form the double pivot. The attacking line-up features Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, with Joshua Zirkzee leading the front three.

Marcus Rashford's exclusion from the starting XI left fans surprised as the Englishman made an impressive comeback in the Red Devils' 3-0 win over Southampton last Saturday (September 14). The forward ended his seven-month goal drought by finding the net once against Southampton.

Meanwhile, many considered Manuel Ugarte's inclusion important in this game, especially since Ten Hag did not include a defensive midfielder in the line-up.

Fans took to X to share their criticism and questioned Erik ten Hag's decision to bench Rashford and Ugarte. A fan wrote:

"Why bench Ugarte and Rashford? You want to lose the game ?"

"Ugarte should be starting ffs," a fan said.

"U drop ugarte and case against palace away. He wants that sack so bad. Eriksen is great, technically the best in the team but if you play him you need a spine … ugarte and or Case. Goodluck Eric," another user opined.

"I have a very big problem with the holding midfield🙄🙄," an individual wrote.

"Ugarte rashford what is going on?," a user questioned.

Fans continued to share their take on the line-up:

"What’s Ten Hag smoking? Away at Palace without a Dm?"

"Damn rashford actually benched," a netizen commented.

"Rashford & Ugarte being benched is CRIMINAL," another fan chimed in.

"Why is my hero benched? Rashford should start every game," a user mentioned.

Manchester United will be desperate to secure three points in their away game against Crystal Palace, after securing only two out of four wins in the Premier League so far.

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"We need to rotate" - Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag explains decision to bench Marcus Rashford in clash vs Crystal Palace

Ahead of facing Crystal Palace, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag explained his decision to bench Marcus Rashford and start Alejandro Garnacho instead. He said (via Fabrizio Romano):

“It was not difficult because we need to rotate. Alejandro Garnacho also needs starts to get better and get more power. Therefore, we rotate."

Earlier in the pre-match press conference on Friday (September 20), Ten Hag praised Rashford for his performance against Southampton, and noted (via Manchester United Official website):

"It's very good, of course, that your strikers, they are starting to score when the season is very young. Strikers, they need that belief, and we have now a couple of players who are, in the meanwhile, on the scoring list, and it is very good as a team, because that will strengthen their belief, and they will come up for more, and they will score more goals now."

Marcus Rashford made a promising comeback after a difficult period of facing criticism. Alejandro Garnacho, too, has been key to Manchester United's recent successes, leading to Ten Hag giving him a chance in important games.