Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has admitted that he was “surprised” by a huge call from Erik ten Hag in Manchester United’s League Cup win over Newcastle.
Goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford in the first half at Wembley on Sunday ensured United ended their six-year-long trophy drought.
Ten Hag, who has been widely hailed for his impact at Old Trafford since he arrived from Ajax last summer, also lifted his first major piece of silverware as United boss.
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Speaking after United’s win, Neville expertly broke down that former Ajax manager Ten Hag has made a “massive impact” with his substitutions in matches.
Ten Hag withdrew Fred and Wout Weghorst in the second half against Newcastle and replaced them with Marcel Sabitzer and Scott McTominay respectively.
Sabitzer and McTominay helped United to control the tempo of the League Cup final and nullified Newcastle’s desperate bid to climb into the match.
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Neville admitted he was surprised with Ten Hag’s approach to opt for Sabitzer and McTominay to come on together rather than going for a midfielder and a wide player.
“There are times when Jose [Mourinho] was at Chelsea and he would make substitutions, Sir Alex [Ferguson] would do the same and you’d think ‘What’s he doing?’ and it would work,” he said on The Overlap’s YouTube channel.
“Ten Hag’s done that five or six times now in the past few months. Even on Sunday, I was absolutely certain that only one midfielder would come on.
“I didn’t think both Marcel Sabitzer and Scott McTominay would come on.
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“I thought he’d bring on a wide player like Alejandro Garnacho or Jadon Sancho plus a midfield player on. So that surprised me.
“Newcastle were having their best period around that time and it just got Manchester United back in control.
“Every time he makes a change or a substitution, it has a massive impact. I think he’s done it in the last six or seven matches and actually it makes the team better. It’s hard to do that.”
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Topics: Carabao Cup, Manchester United, Newcastle United, England, Football, Gary Neville, Erik Ten Hag
Adnan Riaz