Erik ten Hag will show Manchester United fans his true opinion on Raphael Varane vs Brentford

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag spoke at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon and he confirmed that Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof are the only players in his squad who are currently unavailable through injury.

That means Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane are considered fit and ready to play. Ten Hag named both of those players on the bench against Brighton last weekend and it was Ronaldo's omission that obviously made headlines. The forward has expressed his desire to leave the club and Ten Hag chose to play with a false nine after outlining his concerns about Ronaldo's fitness.

Although Ronaldo eventually made an appearance from the bench in the second half, he was unable to score an equaliser which would have prevented the embarrassment of an opening-day defeat against Brighton at Old Trafford. Ronaldo often delivered when his side needed him most last season but this was beyond his capabilities. Brighton defended well and deserved the win.

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Brighton won 2-1 and they would have felt aggrieved if United had scored an equaliser. That's because they were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty when they were two goals ahead, with Lisandro Martinez fouling Danny Welbeck.

Ten Hag was keen to sign Martinez from Ajax this summer and the transfer fee he commanded suggested he was brought to Manchester to start. Martinez indeed started on the opening day and he lined up alongside Harry Maguire in central defence.

Maguire played on the right side of the defence during pre-season and that suggested Ten Hag was preparing him to play alongside the left-footed Martinez. That suddenly leaves Varane slipping down the pecking