Erik ten Hag blasts Jamie Redknapp over 'crazy' claim and sends angry message after Man Utd draw at Crystal Palace
Erik ten Hag has slammed Jamie Redknapp for insinuating that there's been a falling out between the Manchester United boss and Marcus Rashford.
Despite Rashford's recent goal-scoring form, with three goals in games against Southampton and Barnsley, he was benched for United's match against Crystal Palace. Ten Hag opted to start Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing, citing squad rotation and the need to maintain player fitness as his rationale.
However, Redknapp, in his role as a Sky Sports pundit, questioned this explanation, suggesting, "It feels like something has gone untoward," adding, "I don't know the details. But you don't drop a player that has scored two in midweek and against Southampton."
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Redknapp also commented on Rashford's resurgence, saying, "I'd be nervous to say he is back but he is showing signs of the Rashford from two years ago. It feels like something's happened maybe this week, I don't know the manager's frustration. It is unusual for a manager to out players for their lifestyle."
Garnacho didn't capitalise on his opportunity as United were held to a goalless draw at Selhurst Park, with Rashford entering the fray in the 61st minute. Ten Hag, having been briefed on Redknapp's comments prior to his press conference, was quick to dismiss any speculation.
Ten Hag has dismissed speculation about his decision to bench Marcus Rashford, stating: "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."
He further explained the need for squad rotation, saying, "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."
Ten Hag also emphasized his satisfaction with Rashford's performance: "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."
When pushed for further comments, Ten Hag praised other players: "I have to say Amad is playing very good, Garnacho almost all the games so far, maybe apart from Liverpool, he has end product, so also we have to play them as well."
The match report noted United's dominance in the first half, with Dean Henderson making key saves against Garnacho, Matthijs de Ligt, and Lisandro Martinez. Despite this, United missed opportunities to take the lead, notably when Garnacho hit the crossbar and Bruno Fernandes did the same on the rebound.
Crystal Palace stepped up their game after half-time and were unlucky not to score when Ismaila Sarr provided a perfect setup for Eberechi Eze, who unfortunately missed the target. Andre Onana then pulled off an impressive double save, denying Eddie Nketiah and Sarr in quick succession.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Onana reflected on the nature of football: "Football sometimes, you can't control everything," he said. "We were coming in, we had more chances and I had faith always in my guys. Today, we hit the crossbar twice and hopefully in the coming games, we will score a lot."
He added confidently, "I think we were better than them, I think we were way better than them. We had more chances than them. We had the best chances during the game. Of course, they are a very good team, but we were way better than them."