Manchester United slumped to their fourth straight defeat in a roll at the Britannia, and Stoke manager Mark Hughes thinks United were weeker without captain Wayne Rooney in the starting eleven.
Rooney's omission came as a surprise to some, but manager Van Gaal said benching the England's all time highest goal scorer was tactical.
United were 2 - 0 down by the end of the first half, as the team lacked steel, leadership in the first half. He was brought on at half time and United looked a little adventurous, but could put the ball behind the Stoke goalkeeper.
Former United player Hughes, believes Stoke benefitted from Rooney's absence.
"I'm sure there were reasons why Wayne didn't start the game.
"It's a tough period over Christmas, we've got a tough fixture against Everton, United have got Chelsea so you've got to work with your resources.
"Maybe that's the reason he didn't start the game. From our point of view, a team without Wayne Rooney is a team that maybe isn't quite as strong.
"But maybe he wasn't fit enough to start."
No comments:
Post a Comment