Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has welcomed Marcus Rashford’s furious reaction after Erik ten Hag subbed him off in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham at Old Trafford.
Rasmus Hojlund opened the scoring for United on Sunday inside the first five minutes before Tottenham striker Richarlison pulled one back for Spurs.
United restored their lead before half-time after Red Devils striker Hojlund set up Rashford, who scored at Old Trafford for the first time in seven months.
However, the Red Devils’ lead disappeared minutes into the second half after Rodrigo Bentancur scored the all-important equaliser for Spurs in the contest.
Rashford was thrilled that he scored at home after such a long period of time and even his United teammates praised him for his performance against Tottenham.
However, the 26-year-old United forward was visibly frustrated during the late stages of the Premier League match after Ten Hag withdrew him for Antony.
Rashford was spotted on the substitutes’ bench and looked angry that he had to make way in the 88th minute, with Ten Hag’s tactics now questioned by Schmeichel.
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Schmeichel on Ten Hag’s call with Rashford
Rashford has faced mounting criticism over his form in the final third this season, with the United star scoring only four times in 20 Premier League appearances.
However, the England international impressed with his performance against Spurs and linked up superbly well with under-fire United star Hojlund.
Speaking after the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, Schmeichel admitted that he was “very, very happy” to see Rashford’s reaction after Ten Hag subbed him off.
The 60-year-old United legend added that Ten Hag’s decision “doesn’t make sense” and praised Rashford’s “brilliant” link-up play with Hojlund.
“The substitution doesn’t make sense to me whatsoever and I was very, very happy to see that reaction,” he told Premier League Productions (via the Metro).
“I know it sounds a bit silly that I’m saying that, but I was very, very happy because like to many people who care for Manchester United, we’ve started to question his desire, does he really want to be there? We’ve seen games where his body language has been so bad.
“For him in a game, I thought he played okay today. There was something different about him today, I think the little link-up with [Rasmus] Hojlund was brilliant, it created two goals.
“For him to have that reaction after being taken off was brilliant, it was nice to see a little bit of, ‘Why has he taken me off?’ I like that.”
Tim Sherwood echoes Schmeichel’s verdict
Tim Sherwood shared similar sentiments to fellow pundit Schmeichel and believes that Ten Hag made a “strange” call to withdraw Rashford near the end of the match.
“It was strange he brought Rashford off because he is a threat on the counter-attack,” he said.
“I think it’s even more depressing for Marcus that Antony comes on for him, I think that was the one [that] really hurt him.
“But he wasn’t happy with it, you can tell, normally you get the hand over the mouth [to cover what he says] but it was quite clear he wanted to show his discontent.”
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