Rashford rescues Man United with late winner

Football in the UK

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic having an off day, Manchester United turned to a striker at the opposite end of his career to keep its winning run going in the English Premier League yesterday.

Marcus Rashford came off the bench and scored two minutes into injury time to give United a 1-0 victory at Hull, lifting the team alongside Chelsea on a maximum nine points.

The 18-year-old Rashford was a revelation in the second half of last season, scoring eight goals after coming from the youth setup to solve an injury crisis, but has been displaced by offseason signing Ibrahimovic under new coach Jose Mourinho.

He has just given Mourinho some thinking to do.

Rashford came on in the 71st minute with United struggling to break down Hull’s stoic defence and in danger of dropping points for the first time. Along with fellow sub Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Rashford changed the dynamic of the game with his direct running and was on hand to tap in the winning goal after Wayne Rooney raced clear down the left and sent over a cross.

“We did everything to win,” Mourinho said. “I know when you score (in) minute 90-something, you talk of a bit of luck. But we were so dominant, so in- tense in our attacking wave.”

United has won its first three games of the season for the first time since 2011, when Alex Ferguson was still in charge. It’s early days but United under Mourinho is beginning to have the same aura as Ferguson’s sides, and even scoring goals in so-called “Fergie Time.”

The 34-year-old Ibrahimovic was well-shackled by the Hull defense and missed out on becoming only the second United player to score in his first four games for the club.

Chelsea had it much easier against another promoted club.

Eden Hazard, Willian, and Victor Moses scored in a 3-0 win over Burnley at Stamford Bridge, with a ruthless performance reminiscent of those produced in the team’s title-winning campaign in 201415, when Mourinho was Chelsea coach.

Hull and Manchester City started the weekend as the other teams with 100 per cent records after two games. City hosts West Ham today.

Leicester and Arsenal, the top two teams last season, racked up their first wins at the third attempt, and their star attackers were back on the scoresheet.

Jamie Vardy set champion Leicester on its way to a 2-1 win over Swansea at King Power Sta- dium. Wes Morgan added a second goal and Leicester winger Riyad Mahrez had a penalty saved before Leroy Fer pulled a goal back for the visitors.

Alexis Sanchez was the inspiration behind Arsenal’s 3-1 victory at Watford, earning a ninth-minute penalty converted by Santi Cazorla, scoring himself, then setting up Mesut Ozil for the third goal before halftime.

Tottenham and Liverpool are two more teams hoping to be in the mix for the top four, perhaps even the title, and they drew 1-1 in a frenetic match at White Hart Lane.

Two left backs scored, with James Milner’s penalty for Liverpool canceled out by Danny Rose’s 72nd-minute strike. Tottenham has five points, one more than Liverpool.

Everton kept up its unbeaten start to the league under new coach Ronald Koeman by beating Stoke 1-0, courtesy of a penalty from Leighton Baines that struck the post, hit goalkeeper Shay Given on the head, and rebounded in.

There were also two 1-1 draws, between Southampton-Sunderland and Crystal PalaceBournemouth. Those four teams remain without a win this season.

PW D Chelsea 3 30 Man United 3 30 Everton 3 21 Man City 2 20 Hull City 3 20 Tottenham 3 12 Arsenal 3 11 M’boro 2 11 Leicester 3 11 Liverpool 3 11 West Ham 2 10 West Brom 2 10 Burnley 3 10 Swansea 3 10 Southampton 3 02 Stoke City 3 01 Sunderland 3 01 Crystal Palace 3 01 Watford 3 01 Bournemouth 3 01

League One

Yesterday L 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 F A Pts 7 2 9 6 1 9 4 2 7 6 2 6 4 2 6 3 2 5 6 5 4 3 2 4 3 3 4 5 6 4 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 4 3 2 4 3 2 4 2 2 6 2 3 5 1 1 3 1 3 6 1 2 5 1 Huddersfield Fulham Barnsley Newcastle QPR Bristol City Nottm F Brighton Wolves Birmingham Norwich Ipswich Burton Brentford Reading Aston Villa Cardiff Derby Sheffield W. Wigan Leeds Rotherham Preston Blackburn

League Two

Yesterday PW D 5 41 5 32 5 30 5 30 5 30 5 30 5 30 5 22 5 22 5 22 5 22 5 22 5 21 5 21 5 21 5 12 5 12 5 12 5 12 5 11 5 11 5 11 5 10 5 01 L F A Pts 0 8 4 13 0 7 4 11 2 12 8 9 2 8 4 9 2 8 5 9 2 7 5 9 2 11 11 9 1 8 4 8 1 7 4 8 1 7 5 8 1 6 5 8 1 6 5 8 2 10 9 7 2 5 4 7 2 5 8 7 2 5 5 5 2 4 6 5 2 1 3 5 2 3 6 5 3 8 8 4 3 5 9 4 3 3 12 4 4 3 5 3 4 4 12 1