Ten Hag wants to keep switching forwards
Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag has expressed his happiness about being able to rotate his attacking options going into the game against Newcastle United.
The Reds had 34 shots in total in the Europa League tie against Omonia Nicosia on Thursday night, needing substitute Scott McTominay to come to the rescue, with the only goal of the game, in the 93rd minute.
With Marcus Rashford, Antony and Cristiano Ronaldo starting at Old Trafford, before Jadon Sancho came on, and Anthony Elanga and Anthony Martial also capable of switching positions across the frontline, there is plenty to ponder ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with the Magpies.
Highlights: United v Omonia Nicosia
Short match highlights | Watch two minutes of action from our Europa League group-stage game at Old Trafford...
"We have so many games to cover and we have five or six qualified, offensive players." said Ten Hag. "We can rotate it as one and think about what I just mentioned, to bring in variations to catch a surprise. And that is what you get, for instance, with Jadon.
"I think about the game against Everton, he didn't come on. But also all the other games, he had playing time. A lot of starts. And I think he is also doing really well."
The England international has shown an ability to not only perform on both flanks but also drift into the middle on occasions, with Rashford also moving inside towards the end of the 1-0 victory in Group E. It was Sancho's dribble that led to McTominay breaking Omonia's hearts with his low finish.
"Of course, the one performance [against Omonia] is better than the other one, that is clear. But you see today, he had an impact, some good dribbles and good combinations with Luke Shaw. And finally, he was involved in scoring the goal."
When asked about whether it was important for players like Sancho to show off more combination work with team-mates to improve his output, the manager revealed what his game-plan is for his forwards.
"When you beat one, the pitch is open," he stated. "You need an overload around the ball and show that they have combinations or dribbles. And especially with the creative players like Jadon and Antony, they can beat players in a one against one.
"But it gets more simple for them when they have options to play around. So, I want to create that overload in the wide areas so they can do that."