MOURINHO CUP HEADACHE
Rash blitzes Burton but boss fears it’s a competition too far
JOSE MOURINHO saw the cup holders comfortably clear the first hurdle against a spirited Burton Albion last night, then suggested that Manchester United might be better off without this competition.
Two goals inside the opening 17 minutes from Marcus Rashford set United on course for the fourth round as the teenage England striker once again prospered in a more central role.
Mourinho made nine changes from the weekend — as did Burton boss Nigel Clough — to show where his priorities lie despite lifting this trophy four times as manager of United and Chelsea.
‘If the competition is an official competition, it is important for Manchester United and for me as a manager, and I want the players to think the same way,’ he said afterwards.
‘If you ask me, could English football survive or even be better without this competition, maybe. Maybe we would be fresher for European competitions.
‘But we have this competition, we have to respect it, we have to respect the sponsors, we have to respect the opponents, we have to respect the professionalism of all of us trying to do our best.’
Rashford proved that Romelu Lukaku is not the only ‘scoring genius’ at Old Trafford, whatever the song dedicated to United’s £75million striker might suggest.
On a night when Lukaku and the terrace chant that has attracted so much controversy were kept under wraps, the youngster scored twice against the Championship club and set up another before leaving the stage to a richly deserved ovation.
Rashford might have grown accustomed to a wider role to accommodate Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic before him, but he demonstrated once again that he is more than capable of finding the net when played down the middle.
His first goal arrived in the fifth minute. Michael Carrick, making his first appearance of the season, played the ball into the box and Jesse Lingard provided a lovely touch to stun the ball into the path of his team-mate.
Rashford applied a nonchalant finish, clipping his shot past goalkeeper Connor Ripley and the desperate challenge of Ben Turner.
United extended their lead when Rashford struck again in the 17th minute, turning to rifle a fierce effort past Ripley from the edge of the box. Lukaku, hidden under the hood of his anorak on the bench, clapped in appreciation.
‘This was an opportunity for Rashford to play centre forward, the position he wants to play, and I thought his movement and his speed absolutely petrified the back three,’ former United player Phil Neville told Sky. If the result was not already beyond doubt, United added a third goal nine minutes before half-time.
It followed some lovely footwork by Anthony Martial, who played the ball to Lingard, and his shot took a heavy deflection off Turner, leaving Ripley hopelessly wrong-footed.
United’s comfortable position enabled Mourinho to switch his team around at half-time to bring on Luke Shaw for his first appearance since April, and United got a fourth on the hour when Martial finally scored the goal that had eluded him all night.
Rashford helped set up this one, playing the ball into the path of the Frenchman as he burst into the box before burying a shot past Ripley.
Burton had their moments 11 years after famously forcing United to an FA Cup replay, not least when Joe Mason failed to score when one-on-one withith S Sergio Romero in the first half.
They snatched a consolation goal with the last kick of the game when Mason’s header hit the bar and substitute goalkeeper Joel Pereira spilled the ball as it looped across goal, giving Lloyd Dyer the chance to rifle home.
‘At half-time it was about trying to keep the spirits up, because you don’t want it to go five, six, sevennil,’ said Clough.
‘It was lovely for our supporters to get a goal,’ said Clough.
‘Most of them will never have dreamt Burton would ever score at Old Trafford.
‘Never mind playing here twice in 11 years, we’ve actually scored a goal now!’