Erik ten Hag just showed two Manchester United players that they are no longer undroppable

Manchester City won the treble last season but that wouldn't have been possible if Erling Haaland and Rodri had underperformed.

Haaland was the leading goalscorer across Europe's top five leagues and Rodri was the best defensive midfielder in the world, and lifting the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League simply wouldn't have happened without them.

Any team will struggle without their best players excelling and it's no coincidence City have suffered three consecutive domestic defeats for the first time in years when Haaland's goals have stopped and Rodri has been suspended.

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Marcus Rashford and Casemiro were the equivalent of those City players for Manchester United last term and rather unsurprisingly, Erik ten Hag's side have suffered a dire start to the season while that pair have underperformed.

United secured a dramatic late 2-1 win against Brentford at the weekend, but the performance was awful and Scott McTominay single-handedly turned the game around and alleviated pressure that was building on the manager.

Ten Hag is not blameless for the brutal start, but the squad has been pillaged by injuries, players have been unavailable due to off-pitch issues, the team's top goalscorer has misfired and Casemiro has looked his age.

Rashford and Casemiro were instrumental in the success of last season and both are yet to deliver this time around. It would have been unthinkable to drop either player but there are now calls for both to lose their starting roles.

After the best season of his career, Rashford has regressed and he's scored just one goal for United this term. His