Raheem Sterling to the right, Mykhailo Mudryk to the left, and Nicolas Jackson to the center. Erik ten Hag was going to have a hard time blocking this one.

Ten Hag, however, had a different set of aims at Old Trafford the day after taking on the media. On this night, he sent a message to his Manchester United detractors.

Marcus Rashford was relegated to the bench following a terrible display against Newcastle on Saturday night.

Anthony Martial was banished to the bench alongside Rashford after a disagreement with his boss about a lack of effort tracking back at St James’ Park.

Raphael Varane was dropped, and Jonny Evans took his place as the team’s reserve center-back.

Erik ten Hag was rewarded for leaving out several prominent Manchester United players in their victory over Chelsea.

Marcus Rashford came on as a substitute after many criticized his performance against Newcastle the previous Saturday.

Anthony Martial was also on the bench, but he was an unused substitution due to a weekend argument with his manager.

Varane’s official diagnosis was a bad back. If that’s the case, it’s presumably because he’s spent so much time on the bench recently as a result of his spat with Ten Hag.

The World Cup and triple Champions League winner hasn’t started in nine games since challenging his manager’s decision to deploy Evans ahead of him with Harry Maguire.

‘We don’t know what’s wrong with Varane,’ remarked his former France colleague Patrice Evra on Amazon Prime.

Raphael Varane was left out of the squad entirely, citing a back problem as the reason for his absence.

Evra understands what it takes to form a successful team. Even the finest among them must put in some effort.

‘That’s the basics of any successful team they manage,’ he added. ‘It was unprofessional against Newcastle. The players did not want to be on the field. Rashford is… Giggsy, even at 39, would not give up like that.’

Ten Hag did the same with his underachieving squad after drawing what he felt was a line in the sand with the media, however foolish his actions may have been.

At United, few managers have succumbed to player power, but Ten Hag is not one of them.

Scott McTominay, a United youth graduate, scored both goals as United defeated Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Over the previous decade, too many managers have been undone by player power at Old Trafford. If the Dutchman was to survive, he needed a team selection that put his sulking stars in their place, as well as a reaction from the players considered worthy of wearing the red shirt.

United’s intensity and enthusiasm here were diametrically opposed to the dog’s supper they put up on Tyneside.

Scott McTominay, the homegrown midfielder who turned down West Ham in the summer because he didn’t want to give up his United career, scored both goals.

McTominay now has six goals on the season, two more than Rashford and Martial combined.