Why Paul Pogba & Marcus Rashford were benched for Manchester United vs Brighton
Ralf Rangnick has explained the reason behind dropping Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba to the bench for Manchester United’s meeting with Brighton.
Manchester United and Brighton are set to face off in a Premier League clash at 8:15 pm UK time.
Ahead of the game, Manchester United released their starting line-up/substitute bench.
The starting eleven was pretty standard, though it did have some noticeable absentees in the form of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford – the only two changes from United’s starting XI that drew with Southampton.
Introducing your United line-up to take on Brighton! ✊🔴#MUFC | #MUNBHA
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 15, 2022
Now though, Rangnick has provided some insight into his decisions to drop Pogba and Rashford.
The German stated that the changes made were about fresh legs: “(The changes) was about fresh legs, Anthony Elanga did well until the last two games he did not start in.”
On Pogba specifically, Rangnick suggested the midfielder’s only recent return from a long-term injury played a role in him dropping to the bench: “Paul Pogba came back after his long term injury and Fred is fully back in training so I decided to go with that.”
Rangnick: “(The changes) was about fresh legs, Anthony Elanga did well until the last two games he did not start in.
“Paul Pogba came back after his long term injury and Fred is fully back in training so I decided to go with that.” #MUFC— Shamoon Hafez (@ShamoonHafez) February 15, 2022
Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion live streaming: Watch Premier League online
Manchester United vs Brighton
Manchester United head into the Brighton clash in pretty poor form having won just two of their last five league clashes.
However, the Red Devils can move back into the top-four if they secure a point vs the Seagulls, as West Ham are only one point above them with a worse goal difference.
But with Arsenal, Wolves and Tottenham close to United with games in hand, three points for the Manchester outfit would be much better vs a Seagulls side undefeated in five.