🚨 Rio Ferdinand on Marcus Rashford being rested ahead of Manchester United vs Manchester City: 🗣️ Rio: “Watching the Sabah game and around 60 minutes I thought, ‘Okay, Marcus will probably get half an hour.’ Nothing. Seventy minutes, still nothing. Then I looked at United’s next game and thought, ‘Oh… Manchester City. Carrick knows exactly what he’s doing.’ If I’m Maresca watching that game, I’m actually hoping Rashford comes on. Give him 30 minutes. Make him sprint a little bit. Anything. Instead he’s sitting there watching everybody else play football and getting a full night’s rest before your defenders have to deal with him. That’s not ideal for City Because whatever people think about Marcus, his record in big games tells you what he is capable of. And against a team that wants to come to Old Trafford, have the ball and push players forward, the last person you want completely fresh is Rashford waiting on the left for somebody to leave space behind them. The funny thing is I remember the Barcelona situation. Everybody was discussing whether Marcus was leaving United, whether Barcelona would complete the deal. I said at the time, ‘Be careful. Barcelona not signing him might end up being a blessing for Manchester United.’ People thought I was just being Rio, protecting a United player. Now look at him. He’s gone from a player people weren’t sure would even be here to one of the attackers United supporters most want on the pitch when the big games arrive. And Carrick has just rested him for an entire Champions League match because Manchester City are next. That’s quite a turnaround. If I’m Maresca, I probably would’ve preferred Barcelona completed the transfer too.”