MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were surprise omissions from Manchester United's squad to play Manchester City on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim is taking part in his first Manchester derby since taking over as United's head coach last month. And he made the bold call to leave out two of his most high profile forwards for the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium.
Amorim had not stated that either player was injured ahead the game.
“We try to evaluate everything — training performance, game performance, engagement with the team-mates, push the team-mates up," he said. “Everything is on the line when we’re analysing and trying to choose the players. So it was my selection, simple.”
Rashford was substituted after 56 minutes of United's Europa League match against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday and has scored three goals in six appearances under Amorim.
Garnacho, who scored in United's FA Cup final win against City in May, came on as a substitute against Plzen.
“I don’t want to send a message. It’s simply evaluation," Amorim said. “They know — the players are really, really smart. Everyone understands my decision. I have to choose. It’s simple selection.”
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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Manchester United's Marcus Rashford reacts during the Europa League soccer match between Viktoria Plzen and Manchester United at the Doosan Arena in Plzen, Czech Republic, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tanner McKee threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a game full of backups to help the Philadelphia Eagles tune up for the postseason with a 20-13 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday.
The NFC East champion Eagles (14-3) are the No. 2 seed in the conference and will host Green Bay next weekend in a wild-card game.
With making a run at the Super Bowl a priority, the Eagles rested their core starters, notably running back Saquon Barkley, quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and offensive linemen Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson.
Barkley lost his shot at breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record. Barkley finished the season with 2,005 yards rushing, 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
While the prudent was move, there was some disappointment in Philly that Barkley didn’t get a chance at breaking the record, especially against the team that let him go at the end of last season.
“Would have broke the record in the first quarter,” former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook wrote on social media.
Any doubt that coach Nick Sirianni made the right move to play it safe was erased about 750 miles away in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Packers wide receiver Christian Watson was carted into the locker room and quarterback Jordan Love hurt his throwing elbow in a game against Chicago.
Hurts might not have played anyway after the franchise QB spent a second straight week in the NFL concussion protocol. He missed the last two games. Kenny Pickett started last week against Dallas but hurt his ribs, opening the door for 2023 sixth-round draft pick McKee to start in a half-empty Lincoln Financial Field.
McKee impressed with a pair of touchdown passes in garbage time last week against Dallas and opened strong against the Giants.
McKee completed all three passes for 48 yards on the first drive and hit Ainias Smith for a 15-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. He threw a 7-yard TD pass to E.J. Jenkins in the fourth for a 17-3 lead.
The game may have been meaningless to the Eagles, but not to McKee. The 24-year-old threw for 190 yards in the first half in what was essentially his first real audition to unseat Pickett next season as the backup quarterback.
With Barkley sitting out, the Eagles rushed for only 51 yards in a game with fairly muted play-calling.
Tight end Dallas Goedert had four catches for 55 yards in his return from a knee injury. Goedert missed the last four games and his return is a needed boost ahead of the postseason.
The Giants saw their bid for the No. 1 draft pick take a serious blow when they upset Indianapolis last week, and it officially ended when Cleveland lost Saturday to Baltimore.
Both the Browns and Giants are 3-14, but New York's Week 3 win in Cleveland was the tiebreaker.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers had five catches to finish with 109 overall and top Steve Smith for the season franchise record. Smith had 107 receptions in 2009.
Drew Lock, just 22 of 29 for 138 yards passing, hit Nabers for a 45-yard touchdown in the fourth that cut the deficit to 17-10.
Jake Elliott missed a 39-yarder on a windy day and connected on a 24-yard field goal to send the Eagles into halftime with a 10-3 lead. He added a 32-yarder in the fourth.
Graham Gano kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Giants in the third quarter and added a 53-yarder in the fourth that made it 17-13.
The Eagles get set to play a home playoff game against the Packers while the Giants face an uncertain offseason.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL
New York Giants wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson (17) runs with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
A Philadelphia Eagles' fan watches action during the second half of an NFL football game between the Eagles and the New York Giants Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
New York Giants tight end Chris Manhertz (85) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles safety Tristin McCollum (36) and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Oren Burks (42) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Eagles tight end E.J. Jenkins (84) scores a touchdown past New York Giants safety Dane Belton (24) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) catches the ball before scoring a touchdown past Philadelphia Eagles safety Tristin McCollum (36) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) catches the ball before scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Actor Bradley Cooper watches action during the second half of an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee chases a loose snap during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley poses for photos with kids before an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) throws to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Ainias Smith for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee warms up before an NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
