Ralf Rangnick insists Juan Mata has earned his first Premier League start of the season after handing him an Old Trafford farewell against Brentford.
The Spaniard will leave United at the end of the season and this is the final home game of a disappointing season, but Rangnick said Mata had trained well recently and had an influence on Thursday when he came on for the final 11 minutes against Chelsea, which is why he starts ahead of Marcus Rashford.
Mata will play in the attacking midfield position usually occupied by Bruno Fernandes, with the stand-in captain moved to a left-wing position and Anthony Elanga on the right.
READ MORE: United vs Brentford LIVE team news and updates
"He was very good in training, when he came on against Chelsea he also showed a good performance, he deserves to be in the team, I decided to play him in the centre of midfield and Bruno a little bit from the left," Rangnick told MUTV about Mata's selection.
Jesse Lingard, Fred and Edinson Cavani are all back on the bench for United, with Lingard and Cavani also set for Old Trafford farewells, as is Nemanja Matic. Fred and Cavani have only recently returned to training, which is why they both start amongst the subs.
“Both have only trained two training sessions with the team, especially with Fred the risk of a reinjury when playing from the start [was too great], he’d have to play 45 to 60 minutes. Nema had a good game against Chelsea so I decided to bring Fred from the bench," said Rangnick.
United are bringing the curtain down on a terrible season and more protests are planned against the owners tonight, but Rangnick not only wants to send the fans home happy, but also build momentum ahead of the new season with a positive result.
“It would be very important to the fans and also for ourselves, we want to win as many points as we can and it’s important for the levels of confidence and atmosphere for the new season," he said.
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