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Wayne Rooney questioned Enzo Maresca's substitutions following Robert Sanchez's red card in Chelsea's clash with Manchester United.
The visitors were forced to play most of the match with 10 men after Sanchez was given marching orders by referee Peter Bankes following a foul on Bryan Mbeumo outside the penalty area. The on-field call stood after a VAR review.
Maresca took off Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto, making a double substitution. However, the decision backfired, as United took the lead in the 14th minute through Bruno Fernandes.
By the 21st minute, the Italian boss had already made three substitutions, with Andrey Santos coming on for Cole Palmer. His decisions sparked some controversy, and Chelsea went on to lose 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Speaking on Match of the Day, the United legend, Rooney said : "They had no imagination on the pitch, did they? I felt that's what was missing for Chelsea.
"They had a lot of possession side-to-side in the second half but they missed that creativity which, of course, Cole Palmer and [Pedro] Neto bring them so, I think the change was strange but thankfully, it helped [Man] United."
Meanwhile, Chelsea legend Gary Cahill described the changes as hasty. "Our initial thought was that the second change from Enzo Maresca was quite reactive," he told Sky Sports.
"You expect Estevao to go off so you can make one defensive substitution, but two was a little bit strange."
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Maresca later explained his decision to withdraw Palmer, due to his long-standing groin issue.
"He (Palmer) tried this morning. He had a test this morning to play this game," said Maresca. "He was not 100% fit. He made a fantastic effort to play this game, but he was not 100%.
"It’s a problem that is already a long time for him, his groin. Again, he did this morning a test. He wants to play this game for the team, to be close.
"So the effort has been huge from him. But then, after 20 minutes, he started to feel something, so we decided to change it."
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