Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has explained why he left Anthony Martial out of the squad to play Feyenoord in their Europa League clash.
The 20-year-old started for United against Arsenal last weekend, but was not even named among the substitutes on Thursday night.
Mourinho confirmed Martial is not injured, but suggested the France international needs to do more to stay in his team.
Speaking after his side’s emphatic 4-0 win – United’s biggest since Mourinho took over – the Portuguese said: “He was okay for this game, it was just an option.
“He played last Sunday, I cannot play with 12 players, I cannot use on the bench 19 or 20.
“You wanted to see Mkhitaryan, I wanted too. I cannot play all of them at the same time so it was just an option.
“Players have to win their positions. They are friends, they are colleagues, they work together every day, but at the end they compete between themselves to have more chances to play.
“Anthony played against Arsenal; this was the moment to give a chance to Mkhitaryan to start.”
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