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Erik ten Hag told he must start ‘incredible’ Man Utd star vs Liverpool, he ‘always shows some quality’ for Red Devils
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been urged to start one Red Devils star who is “hungry to do well” against Premier League rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
That is according to former England striker Darren Bent, who believes that Erik ten Hag must now drop one player from his Manchester United XI.
Ten Hag’s men kicked off their 2024-25 Premier League season this month with a 1-0 win over Marco Silva’s Fulham side at Old Trafford.
However, the 54-year-old Dutchman suffered an early setback in the Premier League campaign after United’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the Amex on Saturday.
Joao Pedro ensured that Brighton snatched all three Premier League points after he beat Andre Onana with a close-range header in injury time at the Amex.
United now have one Premier League match remaining before the start of the September international break.
The Red Devils will welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday for their Premier League showdown, with kick-off slated for 4pm UK time.
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Ten Hag told his best front three
Erik ten Hag deployed Bruno Fernandes in a false nine type of role for the 1-0 win against Fulham and the 2-1 defeat to Brighton this season.
Mason Mount played behind Bruno Fernandes for both matches and Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo were out on the left wing and right wing respectively.
Darren Bent is convinced that Alejandro Garnacho must start for Manchester United and Marcus Rashford needs to make way from the starting XI.
Speaking on talkSPORT (via the Metro), he said: “Garnacho has got to start. He’s got to start.
“If that means dropping Marcus Rashford, then so be it. He has to start. I would play Garnacho, [Amad] Diallo and [Joshua] Zirkzee as the front three.
“Erik ten Hag can only protect Rashford for so long. He’s giving him every opportunity to succeed even though he’s not been playing well for a while.
“Garnacho changed the game in the Community Shield final, he was incredible. The energy against Fulham was great. He had a goal against Brighton that was unfortunately ruled out for that offside.
“He is now ready to go. As a manager, I get he’s trying to be loyal and give Rashford the chance to find his form again. But you risk losing a part of Garnacho if you keep overlooking him.
“In the end, he’s going to get annoyed and the fans are going to get annoyed, too. That has to be the front three going forward.”
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Bent on Rashford and Garnacho
Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench against Fulham and missed a clear-cut chance to score in United’s opening Premier League match of the season.
The 20-year-old Spain-born winger made another appearance from the bench against Brighton and looked lively on the pitch.
Garnacho thought he scored at the Amex late in the second half, only for his strike to be chalked off because of Joshua Zirkzee’s deflection from an offside position.
Marcus Rashford, on the other hand, has underwhelmed with his performances so far and has failed to score or register an assist in United’s first two league matches.
Bent continued: “What has Rashford shown so far? Why does he deserve to be in the team instead of Garnacho?
“Garnacho is so hungry to do well, he’s direct and always shows some quality. There’s no reason why Rashford should be ahead of him.
“I would love to hear Erik ten Hag’s reasoning but I can’t see it. At the minute, Rashford is occupying a spot when there’s someone young, hungry and ready to go in that position.”
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