Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that Raphael Varane was substituted at the half-time interval against Nottingham Forest after some complaints.
The Red Devils had a disastrous start against Forest at Old Trafford yesterday. They conceded two goals in the opening four minutes of the game.
Christian Eriksen pulled one goal back in the 17th minute. Casemiro made it 2-2 shortly following the break before Forest went down to 10 men.
Bruno Fernandes clinched the winner from the penalty spot for United. Marcus Rashford won the spot kick which was converted in the 76th minute.
Speaking after the comeback win over Steve Cooper’s side, Ten Hag revealed the reason why Victor Lindelof replaced Varane at the half-interval.
He told Manutd.com: “He had complaints. So we didn’t want to risk him. We know we have Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, good replacements.
“So we don’t take the risk, but what the complaint is and if it is really bad, we don’t know. We have to wait.”
United had another slow start at Old Trafford, but they made amends with a terrific response. Fernandes and Rashford stepped up to the occasion.
However, the club can’t afford such starts in the future, and need to buckle up at the back if they want to challenge for the Premier League title this term.
It is unclear why Varane was substituted as Ten Hag said. The £30 million-rated star felt uncomfortable to continue and the manager avoided taking a risk.
It was the right decision as the Frenchman has been injury-prone during his career, and United can ill-afford to lose him for an extended period of time.
We should know more about Varane’s concern in the next 24 hours. Hopefully, he will be available for next weekend’s key game on the road to Arsenal.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
