Erik ten Hag loses it when a reporter presses him for an explanation of his decision to start Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire against Manchester City instead of Raphael Varane.

When asked why he didn’t start Raphael Varane in Manchester United’s derby loss to Manchester City, manager Erik ten Hag responded angrily.

The boss decided to sit the Frenchman despite his recent string of victories and start Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans instead. Evans, 35, had a hard time keeping up with Erling Haaland and couldn’t stop the onslaught of City attacks. When pressed further, the Dutchman defended his choice to bench Varane and retaliated angrily.

The subject of why has been addressed from the very beginning; I explained it. Do you need me to break it down for you again? at the press briefing, Ten Hag stated. When playing against City, you should expect them to press high and then play with Rafa and Maguire on the left, which might be problematic and force you to resort to kicking long balls. Harry, he plays better on the right side of the field, especially when the opposing team presses high and forces you to make a substitution, like in the case of Alvarez.

When questioned at first about his choice, the Dutchman replied: “They [Evans and Maguire] played very well, Onana played a good game but you know they come under pressures and no one will be surprised and I need the players on the left side who can make angles and to step in and you have to step in to get the press on them and I think they did this very well.”

Ten Hag refused to comment on the decision to give City a penalty for a foul by Rasmus Hojlund on Rodri, saying, “No comment” many times. When asked why he benched the 20-year-old attacker, he was met with jeers from United fans. I have to look out for Rasmus’s best interests, as well as the team’s. He’s not used to playing three games in a week, so it’s my responsibility to look out for him and the team as a whole while we’re down 2-0. Mason Mount and Garnacho are both game-changers who sit on the bench for us. The Red Devils will aim to bounce back from their derby loss on Wednesday when they play Newcastle in the Carabao Cup. In the championship game of the previous year, they prevailed over the Magpies.