Marcus Rashford has been left out of the Manchester United squad for their huge derby clash with Manchester City, along with Alejandro Garnacho.
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Striker not in matchday squadPlayed poorly against Viktoria PlzenSpeculation grows of January exitFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The English forward was nowhere to be seen when Ruben Amorim named his 19-man squad for Sunday's game at the Etihad Stadium, three days after his dreadful performance in the Europa League win at Viktoria Plzen, which saw him removed early in the second half.
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The bombshell decision by Ruben Amorim comes a week after reports emerged that United are open to selling the misfiring forward in January. Garnacho was also not in the squad as United look to secure a first victory over City at the Etihad Stadium since 2021. Rashford scored in the last Premier League derby meeting between the two sides, while Garnacho's early goal set United on their way to victory over their local rivals in the 2024 FA Cup final. A United source said 'selection' was the reasoning behind the two omissions, confirming neither player was injured, while Amorim explained his reasoning in his pre-match interview.
WHAT AMORIM SAID
Amorim told : "I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put your clothes to go to a game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I decide. There is a communication after the last training. They are alright. They had training this morning and I was there. They trained really well."
DID YOU KNOW?
Rashford scored the first goal of the Amorim era at Ipswich and also struck twice in the 4-0 win over Everton in the latest example of him making a fast start under a new manager. But he began on the bench in consecutive games against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest and was abject against Plzen, risking getting sent off when diving in after picking up a booking. He was swiftly taken off for Rasmus Hojlund, who fired United to a 2-1 comeback win.