Ruud van Nistelrooy explains reason for “necessary” Marcus Rashford substitution vs Leicester City

Ruud van Nistelrooy has explained why he substituted Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot as Manchester United defeated Leicester City on Sunday afternoon.

Ruud van Nistelrooy signed off his time as Manchester United’s interim manager in style with a commanding 3-0 win over Leicester City, inspired by a stellar showing from Bruno Fernandes.

Fernandes kickstarted the scoring, calmly placing the ball past Mads Hermansen from the edge of the area after a slick backheel set up by Amad Diallo.

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Just before the interval, the captain made his presence felt again as his header glanced off Victor Kristiansen’s knee and into the back of the net, doubling the lead.

Alejandro Garnacho put the icing on the cake late on, curling in a stunning third goal, with Fernandes once again the provider. Special mention goes to Manuel Ugarte and Amad, who both delivered standout performances throughout the match.

Ruud’s double substitution

However, a point in the match that caught some fans off guard was the double substitution of Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot, who both came off after 57 minutes. The pair were replaced by Garnacho and Jonny Evans.

When asked why he chose to take off the pair so early in the second half, Van Nistelrooy explained that it was necessary to make those changes early due to the number of minutes many of his players have played in recent weeks.

“The timing was that I felt it was necessary in today’s game to make those changes,” he told the press.

“You could also see that players who played so many minutes in so many games, because of the thin squad, they need also a replacement to keep them fit, to keep them healthy, and there’s other players now in the squad that are back.

“Jonny Evans, fantastic how he comes in and does the job. And Lisandro [Martínez] going to left back and doing their jobs. I think I spoke to Alejandro before the game, you’re playing so much, so many games, so many minutes, I want you fresh from the bench to make a difference as a sub.

“It’s, I think, the reality where we were in, and good to have many more players on board like Christian Eriksen, who could step in for Casemiro, who also played almost everything over the last period.”

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