Erik ten Hag explains decision to drop Rasmus Hojlund for Man Utd v Bournemouth

Erik ten Hag has said he rested Rasmus Hojlund for Saturday’s Premier League game against Bournemouth in the midst of a busy fixture schedule for Manchester United.

The Danish striker only last week returned from a hamstring injury and came off the bench in the 1-0 loss to Newcastle United. Hojlund then started in the win over Chelsea but dropped back to the substitutes for the clash with the Cherries, as Anthony Martial took his place in the team.

That was one of two changes from the midweek win against Chelsea, with Sergio Reguilon coming in to replace the injured Victor Lindelof.

Asked about those alterations, Ten Hag told MUTV: “Sergio came in in midweek for Victor and he did very good. Hojlund played a lot of games, many games to play, but also to give Anthony Martial the opportunity. He played very good against Everton and less good against Newcastle, but he has to prove it every third day.”

The Dutchman also said he is expecting a totally different challenge from Bournemouth compared to Chelsea: “That is a different game because they don’t play out so much from the back. 

“They don’t have so much and Chelsea have a very different approach to Bournemouth. As I say, they have a very good game plan and style. They are in good form and you can see the team unity - we have to play our best. They are a very good running team, a very good transition team and we have to play our best.”