Man United suffered yet another setback when summer returnee Johnny Evans had to be substituted after just 25 minutes during an odd first half of stoppages.

Raphael Varane, the four-time Champions League winner, was an excellent choice to replace him. A fortnight ago, Ten Hag had already ruled out the former world champion for “tactical reasons” in the Manchester derby; Evans was selected in lieu of the champion, a decision that sparked controversy at the time.

But Varane did himself no favors at the Parken Stadium, giving up possession in his own end and contributing significantly to Copenhagen’s winning goal after he was unable to hold a very easy square pass from Harry Maguire.

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Journalist Alex Turk declared after the game that Varane was “so far off it,” and club great Paul Scholes acknowledged that Varane “did not fancy it” in reference to Maguire’s ball that preceded the hosts’ winner. The Manchester Evening News, meanwhile, said that the former Real Madrid player gave a 4/10 performance. Horrible, in fact.

Varane had 62 touches during the game but lost possession of the ball 11 times. His passing accuracy was only 81%, which is very poor for a center-back. According to Sofascore, one of the factors contributing to the £340k-per-week star’s poor passing accuracy was that he attempted five long balls over the top but only completed one.

Varane also only completed one tackle, made one interception, and blocked one shot in a flurry of Copenhagen attacks.

Varane had a forgettable night considering the high standards he has set for himself during his career, which may have vindicated Ten Hag’s dubious choice to start Evans over him in the derby two weeks prior.