Erik ten Hag surprised many when the lineup for the match against Fenerbahce was announced and it became clear that Noussair Mazraoui is among the players who will play in midfield.
At UEFA, the Moroccan is set in the advanced role in the middle, which is normally the suspended Bruno Fernandes’ position.
This was, of course, something the manager was asked about when he spoke with rights holder TNT before kickoff where he confirmed that Mazraoui will play in the number 10 role.
– We have some injuries and suspensions so we need to be creative. We also have a short time before the next match against West Ham, so we have to do something different.
– Mazraoui plays in the number 10 role. That was also a position I used him in when I had him at Ajax. When he plays as a full-back, he also moves into the open spaces on the pitch, so he is fully capable of doing the job in that role.
Another of the four changes to the team from the match against Brentford is that Joshua Zirkzee comes in for Rasmus Højlund, who despite a stellar performance in the last match is now benched.
–Højlund is on his way back from a long-term injury. We need to let him play himself into form. He is not 100 percent, and we do not want him to get injured again, so we are resting him now. There is also an important match on Sunday.