'A difficult situation' - Man United's stunning victory was almost not the biggest derby story

There was a rumour circulating before the Manchester derby that Marcus Rashford was set to be axed from the squad. That proved to be correct when Manchester United's line-up was confirmed, but there was an unexpected twist as Alejandro Garnacho was also absent.

Club sources confirmed Rashford and Garnacho weren't injured and it transpired they had trained at Carrington on the morning of the game, which naturally made it a huge story.

The team's stunning comeback win was the biggest story of the day but the omission of Rashford and Garnacho was seismic.

Before the match, Ruben Amorim provided an update and told Sky Sports: "Selection. We try to evaluate everything: training, performance, game performance, engagement with the teammates, pushing the teammates up. Everything is on the line when we analyse the players.

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"I don't want to send a message. It's simply an evaluation, and they know it. The players are really, really smart. Everybody understands my decision. I have to choose. It's just simple selection.

"The context is difficult. We have to win games and we have a difficult situation. I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put on your clothes to go the game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I have to decide. I have a lot of players to choose."

Amorim added that Rashford and Garnacho had been informed they would not be in the squad in plenty of time before the game and said they had "trained well" on the morning.

Erik ten Hag was praised for restoring discipline at Carrington and being a ruthless manager. There is always a smile on Amorim's face but that shouldn't deceive