Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has rubbished suggestions that Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag should have started Cristiano Ronaldo against City.
The Portuguese forward was an unused substitute at the Etihad, but Carragher feels that Marcus Rashford was unquestionably the right player to start up top in the derby:
The idea that ETH got it wrong yesterday by not playing Ronaldo is laughable!
Ronaldo played at Brentford when it was 4-0 at ht!!
It’s not a dig at CR, but Rashford’s pace on the counter attack as we saw v Arsenal/Liverpool was 💯the best option.— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) October 3, 2022
Tactically speaking, Carragher is probably correct. Rashford has shown recently that he is excellent when facing teams on the counter-attack but, he came into the match on Sunday with an injury.
The 24-year-old sustained a muscular problem in the win over Arsenal early last month and he only returned to full training just days before the City game.
Even if Ronaldo wasn’t the right player to start, Anthony Martial may have been a better option in hindsight. Before the game, ten Hag had revealed that the Frenchman had been in training for a full week after recovering from an Achilles problem. The fact that he scored two consolation goals may suggest that ten Hag may have made the wrong call on Rashford.