Now a simple substitute at Manchester United, Raphaël Varane could play a third match on the bench (and without coming into play) this weekend. This would be a first for the former French international since March 2016.
Until two months ago, on the Manchester United side, no one imagined Raphaël Varane languishing on the Red Devils bench and Harry Maguire once again becoming the defensive leader of the team… This is nevertheless the case today ! The 30-year-old former French international, not only overtaken by the English giant but also by (the unreliable) Victor Lindelöf, is no longer a starter in the mind of his coach, Erik ten Hag.
Varane was a substitute and did not come off the bench during Man United’s last two matches, last Sunday against Everton (0-3 victory) and Wednesday evening in the Champions League in the lair of Galatasaray (3-3) . It would be a big surprise to see him find the starting XI for the clash against Newcastle, Saturday evening at St James’s Park (8 p.m.). MUFC, sixth in the standings, has one point more than its opponent this weekend.
We have to go back to March 2016 to see the 2018 world champion play three matches on the bench without coming into play, during two La Liga matches with Real Madrid and a round of 16 return leg of the C1 against AS Roma. Zinédine Zidane was then in charge of the Merengues and alternated between Varane and Pepe to accompany Sergio Ramos in the central hinge. A red card picked up by the Andalusian had put Varane back in the Merengues starting lineup.
