Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is confident Marcus Rashford can be a big contributor to this team moving forward.
Marcus Rashford returned to the Manchester United line-up to face Aston Villa, his first start in more than three weeks.
Rashford was back in his favoured left wing role, and despite an early show of petulance when a pass did not go his way, he performed well and made a big contribution to the team’s comeback.
He began United’s fightback in the first half, lifting the crowd with a couple of shots at goal, before applying his more creative streak in the second half, setting up a goal for Alejandro Garnacho, plus another which was disallowed.
Erik ten Hag on Marcus Rashford
Erik ten Hag was asked about Marcus Rashford after the game via club media and insisted he was glad to see him back and making a contribution.
“I think he played very good,” was the manager’s quick assessment of Rashford’s performance.
Explaining why he has not featured regularly, Ten Hag explained the reasons were varied: “He was ill during a period. But also, he had one or two games that we prefer to play Garnacho over [on] the left side, and because he [Garnacho] deserved it.”
This time Ten Hag chose to play Rashford and Garnacho, with Antony dropping out of the XI, and both players repaid the manager’s faith.
He explained he is determined to find a way to get Rashford into his team, whether it be on the left or right.
He said: “He showed he was not only a threat, but he had key actions: assists, shots on target and scored goals. So yeah, there is also internal competition, but we have to see how we fit them in with togetherness.
“And today we played Alejandro on the right side, and that can be a solution, but it can also be fluid. But also, I know Rashford will also score from the right side.”
READ: Manchester United top scorers and assist leaders for 2023/24
Rashford has six goal contributions
Marcus Rashford has been struggling for goals this season with only two, compared to the 30 he struck last season.
His two goals were against Arsenal back at the start of September and a penalty against Everton last month.
He does however have four assists, only one player has more, Bruno Fernandes with five.
Fernandes spoke up to praise Rashford’s ‘dangerous’ performance against Aston Villa, agreeing with Erik ten Hag’s assessment that he was a positive contributor to the team’s victory.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/30HWbfJ