Manchester United all-time greatest goalscorer Wayne Rooney has claimed that had he been in the dugout in place of Erik ten Hag for the team’s upcoming Premier League clash against Liverpool, he would’ve dropped Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford.
A miserable start to the season threatens to turn into a horrible one for United, who, after back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Brentford, will face rivals Liverpool next – a team that beat them 9-0 on aggregate last season.
New manager ten Hag is already facing a mountain to climb, but, according to the former Manchester United player, Rooney, the Dutchman would make things easier for himself by dropping Cristiano and Rashford in the game against their bitter rivals.
Rooney wrote in his Times column that he believes neither Ronaldo nor Rashford are in the right mindset to participate in the upcoming game. On Ronaldo, the Englishman claimed that lack of match fitness combined with a summer of uncertainty left him in a poor position at the start of the season. Rashford – believes the Manchester United legend – needs to take a step back and reassess his current situation.
“I wouldn’t play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn’t play Marcus Rashford. If I was in Ten Hag’s position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United’s failure to recruit a No 9 means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn’t trained a lot with the team. He looked like he needs time to get match fit,”
the DC United head coach wrote.
In his column, Rooney also asked the United faithful to be patient with ten Hag, who, despite two terrible defeats, is still at the start of his tenure.
The former England international also believes that his old side will put in a spirited performance against Liverpool following last week’s horror show at Brentford – and might even snatch away a point.
“I don’t expect that to happen, by the way – I can’t see United winning, but I believe there’ll be a reaction and they’ll lose by the odd goal, or even snatch a draw,”
he proclaimed.
Manchester United fell to a 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford to Liverpool last season, with Mohamed Salah scoring a hattrick. Salah scored a brace in a 4-0 win for the Reds when the two teams met later in the season.
