Manchester United vs Liverpool: Rooney urges Erik ten Hag to drop Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United's game against arch-rivals Liverpool could not come at a worse time as they are already under immense pressure following consecutive defeats to Brighton and Brentford in their opening two games of the new campaign. The Red Devils kickstarted the new season with a 2-1 loss to Brighton at home before suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Brentford.

As a result of the two losses, they find themselves in last place in the Premier League table. Following the disastrous start that Erik ten Hag's side have had, Wayne Rooney has urged the coach to drop five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford for the Manchester United vs Liverpool game.

Rooney wants ten Hag to drop Ronaldo

While writing for his Sunday Times column, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney wrote, "I wouldn’t play Cristiano Ronaldo, and I wouldn’t play Marcus Rashford. If I was in Ten Hag’s position my main concern would be getting energy on the pitch, and United’s failure to recruit a No 9 means they relied on Ronaldo against Brentford, even though he hadn’t trained a lot with the team. He looked like he needs time to get match fit."

Rooney then went on to explain that Ten Hag should focus on improving younger players, with the aim of helping Manchester United get back to the top in three or four years, and if that means letting Ronaldo leave then he should. "He (Ronaldo) has also let it be known that he wants to leave the club. I don’t know his reasons but, as I wrote in my last column, I’d let him — he’s a great player and will always score goals but the task for Ten Hag is to produce a team that can compete for the title in three or four years’ time," added Rooney. "That means rebuilding with younger players."

Manchester United vs Liverpool match details

England top flight's two most successful teams are going to lock horns with each other on Monday as Manchester United are going to host arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. The match will begin live at 12:30 AM IST on Tuesday, August 22.