Aheed Abrar
Erik ten Hag did not want to risk Raphael Varane midway through the Manchester derby
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag did not want to take a risk as he substituted Raphael Varane before half-time against Manchester City due to an injury. The 29-year-old seemed to pick up a knock just after the half-hour mark.
Varane blocked a shot on the edge of the box and seemed to twist his ankle in the process. Subsequently, the Sky Blues got a corner. And while the French centre-back was receiving treatment on the sidelines, Erling Haaland scored the second goal of the game.
The Norwegian doubled his tally minutes after. Kevin De Bruyne played a delicious ball into the box as Haaland got the better of Varane and found the back of the net.
Ten Hag decided to take the 29-year-old off for Victor Lindelof in the 40th minute. Speaking after the game via the club’s official website, the Dutch manager claimed that the French centre-back’s injury was significant enough to cut his evening short.
“I don’t think so, that he would have carried on [if the score would have been closer].
“But you get him off because when you are 4-0 down, you don’t want to take a risk to get a bigger injury.
“But I think it’s that big, the injury, that he couldn’t carry on.”
Varane was taken off with the scoreline still 3-0. However, just before the break, Phil Foden got his second goal of the game, scoring in the 44th minute.
The French centre-back had formed a brilliant partnership with Lisandro Martinez in the backline. However, they both had an evening to forget against Pep Guardiola’s team.
Ten Hag went with the same back-four against City that has seen United go on a four-game win streak in the Premier League. However, the Sky Blues tormented the Red Devils’ defence.
Andrei Kanchelskis scored a hat-trick for United in a 5-0 victory over City in November 1994. And the former Russian international was the only player to score three goals in a Manchester derby in the English top-flight prior to Haaland and Foden taking the match ball home.
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Varane has been an essential member of the team under the Dutch manager this season. Hopefully, the French centre-back is not out for too long as the fixture schedule piles up.
