Erik ten Hag explains why it was always his plan to bring Rashford and Casemiro on

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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag made the strategic decision to rotate his team for the FA Cup game against West Ham.

After two intense matches against Barcelona and then Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, this was deemed to be a necessary choice.

United have a testing away game against Liverpool on Sunday and Erik ten Hag has admitted he had one eye on this as he made his team selection for the FA Cup tie.

He explained after the game that this upcoming match also influenced his choice to bring Marcus Rashford and Casemiro on, insisting it was all part of his plan.

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Ten Hag on Casemiro and Rashford

Erik ten Hag explained in his post-match interview that he had always planned to bring on Casemiro and Rashford.

He said this was to keep up their sharpness ahead of the game at Anfield on Sunday.

Ten Hag told the club website: “I planned to bring them on. Because I think it was good for the player.

“To stay in the rhythm, players love that. You get energy from it and they needed to bring the performance every time again.

“You can rest them for 45 minutes, but some minutes they needed for this Sunday.”

The way the game was going, even if Ten Hag had not planned to use the duo, he would have needed to.

United were weaker without Casemiro and Rashford and may well have lost the cup tie without them.

Casemiro helped United gain a greater control of the midfield and threatened from set pieces, with a header ruled out for offside.

Marcus Rashford’s mere presence kept West Ham’s defenders occupied, and created more space for Alejandro Garnacho to do some damage.

The right balance

Ten Hag knew Rashford and Casemiro needed the right balance of rest and match action ahead of the game at Anfield.

The way they helped contribute to the win over West Ham saw it all work out perfectly, with the team keeping up their momentum.

Rashford and Casemiro have got even sharper for this weekend’s big game. A win in that one will go a long way to securing Champions League football for next season.