Raphaël Varane injury confirmed as Erik ten Hag explains why Marcus Rashford was dropped vs Chelsea

Manchester United confirmed an injury to Raphaël Varane as Erik ten Hag explained why he has dropped Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial from the starting XI vs Chelsea

The Reds were deserving victors against Mauricio Pochettino’s side after a dreadful performance and result away at Newcastle on the weekend.

Erik ten Hag‘s team were able to bounce back and produce a solid performance, as the manager stresses that the team is still together, unlike what some reports are suggesting.

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“I don’t think [anyone] is [letting the team down],” he told reporters before the game. “If you have one moment, you can’t [say it is] a pattern. The week before, we played brilliantly and with a lot of energy in the team and [in] two games [with] a lot of energy in the team and spirit and I see all the games before.

“If it was a pattern, then it is different, yeah. But this is not a pattern in this season, absolutely not. Everyone is giving their best, and there is unity as a team.”

Regarding the Dutch manager’s team, he decided to drop Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to the bench after the pair were widely criticised for their personal displays at St James’ Park.

Raphaël Varane was also not in the squad, with the club confirming that the French defender is out with a “sore back”, and Ten Hag has explained why he has dropped Rashford and Martial before the clash.

“We played bad as a team [against Newcastle], so we can’t blame individuals for it,” he told Amazon Prime Video Sport. “It’s part of rotation. I think we have a very good, energised front line, and everyone has to be ready.

“We do it as a team and a dressing room. How we played against Everton and Galatasaray, we played as a team, defended as a team, we were very compact and press. And on the ball, we were very dominant, dictating and creating chances.”