Erik ten Hag said that the reason he hit Marcus Rashford with a hook during halftime against Porto wasn’t because he was hurt.

Before the break, Rashford was taken off after scoring one goal and setting up another in the first half of Manchester United’s exciting 3-3 Europa League draw with the big Portuguese team.

Seven minutes into the game, Rashford scored the first goal. In the 20th minute, he set up Rasmus Hojlund to score another goal, which doubled United’s lead.

After seven minutes, the Red Devils fell apart, giving up two goals in that time. The score was tied at halftime.

Eleventh, Rashford was taken off at halftime by Alejandro Garnacho, even though he was the best player in the first half.

TNT Sports commentator Robbie Savage was sure that the England player, who has played 60 times, must have been hurt after the ruling.

But Ten Hag said that’s not true. Rashford was taken off to prepare for Manchester United’s game against Aston Villa this weekend.

He told TNT Sports after the game, “We need to switch things up.” Even though Garnacho had a great game on Sunday and I think all season, we didn’t start him.

“On Sunday we have another hard game [against Aston Villa] so we need players to be available and to be fit and fresh.”

When asked if Rashford could have played longer, ten Hag said that he was sure of his choice.

He also said, “We need to play Garnacho.” We have to get to the Villa game quickly.

“They (Villa) have one more day to rest, and we are the away team.” On Sunday, we want new players to be on the pitch.

Without Rashford, United didn’t have much of an offensive threat in the second half. After giving up a third goal to Porto, they needed a late goal from Harry Maguire to hold on for a draw.

Bruno Fernandes was also sent off for two yellow cards, which meant the Red Devils had to play the last ten minutes of the game without him. It was his second red card in as many games.

Maguire’s late goal might have saved more than just a point for United; it might have also saved Ten Hag’s job.

After a terrible start to the season, the Dutchman is under more and more heat at Old Trafford.

And the trip to Villa Park on Sunday will be a tough test, since the Villans are coming off a big win over Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It’s also said that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the manager of Manchester United, will be going to Birmingham to watch the game from the stands, which will add to Ten Hag’s pressure.

Ratcliffe hasn’t seen Ten Hag play very well so far this season; the only game he saw before the Villa game was United’s 3-0 loss at home to foes Liverpool.

The high-net-worth British man couldn’t believe how bad United’s middle was that day.