With Manchester United trailing 1-0 at Omonia Nicosia, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho were replaced by Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford.
Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho, according to Erik ten Hag, were substituted due to their lack of movement on the ball rather than their roles in Omonia Nicosia’s opening goal.
Omonia took an unexpected lead when Sancho’s careless pass was met with an errant touch by Malacia, who was dispossessed midway through the Omonia half, sparking a breakaway that Karim Ansarifard finished in the 34th minute.
Malacia was withdrawn at half-time in the second game running, along with Sancho, for Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford. Rashford scored United’s equaliser and eventual winner in a dicey 3-2 victory.
“It (the goal) was not what I was happy with, it was the movement with our ball,” Ten Hag explained of his interval changes. “The width on the left side, for me, was no good first-half. The movement from behind the defending line.
“So I hoped with Luke and Marcus we get more effect from that and so in my opinion that happens.”
Another substitute, Anthony Martial, put United up 2-1 before Rashford tapped in for 3-1, only for Nikolas Panayiotou to score a minute later in the 84th minute.
United had a whopping 28 attempts on the Omonia goal but squandered numerous chances on what should have been a more comfortable night.
Ten Hag agreed that Omonia’s goal had thrown United off guard, and Cypriot manager Neil Lennon felt half-time came at an ideal time for United.
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