Man Utd star showed exactly why he’d played just 97 minutes in a month prior to Copenhagen fixture

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Manchester United lost 4-3 to Copenhagen, in what was a really difficult defeat to swallow.

The worst thing for Erik ten Hag‘s men is that Manchester United had complete control of the game. Two Rasmus Hojlund goals meant the Red Devils were cruising, but then a Marcus Rashford red card caused the game to spiral.

There were many incidents that changed the trajectory of the tie along the way, including some seriously dubious VAR calls.

But one thing that wasn’t spoken about a lot was an injury, which led to a dismal performance from one Manchester United man.

Jonny Evans injury led to a poor Raphael Varane performance

Ten Hag opted for Jonny Evans next to Harry Maguire for the Champions League clash.

This came as a surprise to many, with four-time winner of the competition Raphael Varane sat on the bench.

Sadly for the veteran defender, Evans was forced off after just 14 minutes through injury, making way for the Frenchman.

It’s safe to say that Varane had a terrible 76 minutes on the pitch.

He was seemingly at fault for three of Copenhagen’s goals, with the last certainly the worst – giving the ball away carelessly when trying to play out from the back.

He also just looked extremely off it. Granted, he’s only played 97 minutes in the past month, but he certainly looks like he’s lost more than a yard or two of pace.

Erik ten Hag had method to his madness with ‘tactics’

Following the Manchester City loss, Ten Hag was picked apart for starting Evans over Varane in the 3-0 defeat because of ‘tactics’.

In an interview before the game, the Dutchman was asked about this decision, to which he replied:

‘Tactics. I decided for Evans as starter and Varane benched for tactics, yes. Exactly’.

After that latest performance, this really doesn’t look so silly. Despite Varane’s extensive footballing CV, you have to play players based on current ability/form.

Evidently, the manager deems Evans as superior to Varane. Which is a baffling, yet seemingly true, statement.

We did look better with Evans on, but more importantly Varane off, the pitch. Let’s hope his injury isn’t too serious.