UNITED V SEVILLA Matic urges striker to make his Marc...
MARCUS Rashford has been urged to build on his man-of-the-match display against Liverpool by team-mate Nemanja Matic.
The Wythenshawe lad, making his first league start of the year, fired United to a 2-1 win against the Anfielders after scoring twice inside 24 minutes.
Rashford has now scored 12 goals for United this season – only Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard have netted more – and he appears to be hitting form at just the right time ahead of the World Cup.
Having occasionally been accused of being inconsistent, Matic has now urged the 20-year-old to put those doubts to bed with further seasondefining fixtures against Sevilla and Brighton to come.
“The first goal was fantastic with his quality,” he told MUTV of Rashford’s performance.
“He needs to use that to continue like this. I’m happy for him that he scored two goals.”
Rashford was one of three academy graduates to feature for United at Old Trafford on Saturday – Scott McTominay started in a two-man midfield alongside Matic, while Lingard came on for Juan Mata with just a few minutes to go.
McTominay, who was yesterday called up to the Scotland squad, put in arguably his best performance. “Scott had a fantastic game again, so with these type of players it is always a joy to play,” added Matic. YOU have to wonder whether Frank de Boer phoned his old manager Louis van Gaal before his punditry appearance on Saturday night.
De Boer remains without a job after his five-match stint in charge of Crystal Palace ended after 77 days, and the former Netherlands captain brought some Dutch directness to the BT Sport studio.
“It’s a pity the manager is Mourinho,” De Boer said of Marcus Rashford’s development.
Mourinho got the chance to respond to De Boer’s ridiculous comments at Old Trafford as he previewed United’s Champions League tie with Sevilla – and hit back strongly, dubbing him the ‘worst manager in the history of the Premier League.’
Rashford’s supposed lack of playing time has also vexed those preoccupied with England’s World Cup squad. United – and most other club supporters – could not care a jot about the national team for at least another two months.
For a footballer supposedly deprived of game time, Rashford has played more United matches this season (40) than he had at the same stage last season (36). His double against Liverpool has surpassed his tally of 11 in 2016-17 and a 20-goal season remains feasible.
Gary Neville derided the guff surrounding Rashford’s future last month in an M.E.N. interview. “People saying he should leave are talking nonsense, it’s rubbish,” he said. “The kid has been brilliant for 18 months.
“He’s having a period out of the team at the moment, which happens to every young winger or forward that comes in to the team.”
Inconsistency is inevitable with wide players. United’s most garlanded player, Ryan Giggs, was sarcastically cheered off by supporters during the 2003 League Cup semi-final against Blackburn and his career was peppered with periods of mediocrity. Mourinho has encountered it with Anthony Martial and currently Alexis Sanchez. Rashford’s local hero status partly prompted United supporters’ jeering upon his removal against Spurs and Liverpool. Mourinho introduced matchwinner Martial in the former and there was logic behind Rashford’s withdrawal against Liverpool, having collected a yellow card in the first half. Rashford’s mentality is unlikely to ever trouble Mourinho. His brothers represent him and Rashford’s family have kept him grounded. His eagerness to improve is such that he requested specific performance analysis software so he could compare his game with those who play in his position at other clubs. The studious Van Gaal would approve. Gary Neville on Marcus Rashford