ERIK TEN HAG made a tactical decision last night that appeared to contradict his reason for previously dropping Raphael Varane.
The French defender was handed his first start in seven weeks as Manchester United took on Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Ten Hag, 53, has leaned heavily on Harry Maguire during this period, with the England ace winning Premier League Player of the Month for November.
Maguire has often been partnered by former Leicester team-mate Jonny Evans at times, with Varane left on the bench.
The Man Utd boss reasoned that Evans’ ability to play as the left-sided centre-back put him ahead of Varane in the pecking order.
Last night Varane returned to the starting XI alongside Maguire.
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But when Maguire was forced off with injury on 40 minutes, he was replaced by Evans.
Despite having supposedly previously picked Evans over Varane for his ability to play on the left side, it was the latter that took up that position last night – with the former playing on the right.
This left fans confused, with one writing: “Baffles me.”
A second claimed: “No one knows anymore.”
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And a third tweeted: “It’s almost like that was rubbish and he’d had a falling out with Varane.”
Ahead of the game, Ten Hag explained his decision.
The Dutchman said of Varane: “He’s very experienced.
“Especially against Bayern we need to defend very strongly and, as we know he’s a very good defender.”
Varane, 30, has made 13 appearances in all competitions this season.
He hasn’t started a Premier League game since September.
While his last start in any competition had come in the 4-3 defeat at Copenhagen last month.
Man Utd lost 1-0 to Bayern last night via Kingsley Coman’s 71st minute strike.
The result saw the Red Devils crash out of Europe entirely, finishing bottom of the group behind Bayern, Copenhagen and Galatasaray.
Reflecting on his side’s European campaign, Ten Hag said: “I don’t look with regret.
“We want to be in the Champions League, the target was always to qualify for the knock-outs, but we have to learn from it, and accept we played some good football.
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“Rasmus Hojlund scored five times, we had some very good performances, and we have to take that into the Premier League.
“We want to be back in the Champions League again and so we have to qualify again.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
