Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has defended his decision to substitute Bruno Fernandes and Antony against Sevilla last night.
Ten Hag revealed that the referee warned him that both players, who were already on a yellow card, were very close to receiving another booking.
He explained in his press conference: “Bruno was throwing the ball away and he [the fourth official] said ‘the next he is off’.
“He saved him because the player from Sevilla [Gonzalo Montiel] did the same in the first half and got booked for it.
“Everything is going our way, 2-0 up. We are playing a good game, so don’t go into individual battles with your opponents – it is not necessary.
“You heat up the opponent and risk [getting] sent off. I didn’t want to take that risk.
“If he had been sent off, you would say to me ‘why didn’t you take him off, why did you take the risk?”
Lack of quality depth hurting Manchester United
Using a cow and backside analogy, Ten Hag dived into his Dutch descriptions to explain that it is easier to make decisions with hindsight.
Bruno was hauled off on the hour mark and Antony followed him 20 minutes later. Man United led 2-0 and looked favourites to progress to the Europa League semi-finals.
Injuries and poor decision-making resulted in Sevilla scoring twice with the aid of own goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire.
Ten Hag could have trusted the duo to keep their heads, but they have a knack for being overzealous at times.
With a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford, the Dutchman thought other players could do the job but they failed.
Wout Weghorst and Anthony Elanga were given the last half hour to impress. Weghorst has scored two goals in 20 United games while Elanga has not scored a club goal since February 2022.
With Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho injured, Ten Hag did not have many options on the bench.
He will hopefully be able to complete a squad clearout in the summer and will be backed to bring in players who can make an impact on the pitch.
