Wayne Rooney dropped by Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal for Boxing Day match against Stoke
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Updated 26/12/2015 at 13:07 GMT
Louis van Gaal dropped Wayne Rooney for the first time as Manchester United manager for the Boxing Day match against Stoke City.
Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs (L) and Wayne Rooney (R) on the bench before the match
Image credit: Reuters
A six-game winless streak has led to Van Gaal coming under intense pressure and the manager said this week that United have to win against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.
And in his darkest hour of need, Van Gaal has axed his captain, Rooney, who has been performing badly for much of the season.
Ander Herrera comes into the team as a No. 10 with Anthony Martial up front.
Van Gaal confirmed the decision was a tactical one in his pre-match interview with Sky Sports.
"With this gameplan it is better to pay with Ander Herrera instead of Wayne Rooney," he said. "It is not a drastic measure."
[FOLLOW LIVE: Stoke v Man Utd 12.45pm]
United dropped out of he top four with a home defeat to Norwich last weekend which had fans calling for Van Gaal's head.
And the Dutchman, who is reported to have relaxed his notoriously strict regime of late, could no longer pick a striker who has scored only once in the Premier League since the start of October, and twice all season.
STOKE TEAM: Butland, Johnson, Sahwcross, Wollscheid, Pieters, Whelan, Cameron, Shaqiri, Afellay, Arnautovic, Bojan. Subs: Huagaard, Wilson, Van ginkel, Adam, Joselu, Diouf, Walters.
MAN UTD TEAM: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Jones, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Mata, Fellaini, Memphis, Martial. Subs: Romero, Borthwick-Jackson, McNair, Varela, Pereira, Schneiderlin, Rooney.
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