Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag revealed that he thought about bringing on Lisandro Martinez during the team's 0-0 draw against Aston Villa but decided against it, primarily due to concerns over Jonny Evans' fitness as reported by Manchester World.
In a match where United's defense was strong, but their attack faltered, Ten Hag made several changes to his lineup, opting to start Evans and Harry Maguire as the center-back pairing instead of Matthijs de Ligt and Martinez.
The decision to start Evans, who is 36 years old, paid off as he emerged as United's top performer. The defense stood firm, although the offense struggled to break down Villa's backline.
During the game, both Noussair Mazraoui and Maguire had to be substituted at halftime, but Martinez was not among the players Ten Hag called upon to shore up the defense.
After the game, Ten Hag explained his decision, stating, "Rotation, we have loads of games. We have to rotate the team. The freshness, I think it was a good decision today.
The performances from Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans, they were very solid. Matthijs de Ligt came in at half-time and was very solid."
When asked if he had considered moving Dalot to right-back and deploying Martinez at left-back, Ten Hag acknowledged the possibility but stated his hesitation. "Of course, you take everything into consideration.
More reasons, you have to change the back four totally and Jonny Evans, I didn't know if he could come to the end and if he would have to be subbed again," he explained. "So I always consider, but for me, it was the best idea."
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