Erik ten Hag made two bold calls for his side’s trip to St Mary’s, with Christian Eriksen replacing Casemiro in midfield and Amad Diallo selected on the right-wing instead of Garnacho.
The Red Devils have rotated their frontline heavily so far this season, and Fabrizio Romano reports that United sources ‘guarantee’ that the Argentina international was rotated out of the starting 11 due to tactical reasons rather than his off-pitch conduct.
Garnacho raised eyebrows earlier this week when allegedly liking an Instagram post which criticised comments made by Ten Hag.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not see eye-to-eye with the Dutchman during their time together at the Theatre of Dreams, criticised his former boss for playing down United’s chances of winning the Premier League.
The quotes were reposted online, and Garnacho allegedly liked the post on Instagram, before later removing the like. But those at United reportedly insist that he has not been dropped as a result of the apparent lapse in judgement from the winger.
Erik ten Hag made two changes against the Saints (Image: Getty)
The post which Garnacho reportedly liked read: “Cristiano Ronaldo: “Man United coach can NOT say they can’t compete to win the Premier League and the Champions League every year. This is Man United! You have to be there, to mentally say… listen, maybe we don’t have that potential, but I cannot say that. We’re going to try. You have to try”.
“This is why Man United need to rebuild”, tells Five. If Ten Hag listens to Ruud van Nistelrooy… maybe he can help. He knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there, as this is really important”.”
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Amad Diallo was favoured over Garnacho on the right (Image: Getty)
Marcus Rashford remained on the left for the Red Devils for their trip to the south coast, with the England international retaining the faith of Ten Hag.
Speaking about the decision for Rashford to remain as part of his front three, the ex-Ajax boss explained: “Not only today, but he’s in a good place and he needs a goal or an assist,. Last game he had very good crosses. That moment will come, we will wait for that momentum and then he will fly. All strikers want to score and from my experience once a striker starts scoring they are going to fly.”
