james: How rash became free-kick master
DANIEL James has hailed team-mate Marcus Rashford after the striker’s recent impressive form.
England forward Rashford scored a penalty and a stunning free-kick in the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory at Chelsea on Wednesday night.
And according to his Welsh team-mate James, it’s all down to the United striker’s hard work on the training pitch.
Of Rashford’s wonderful free-kick, James said: “It was a great free-kick. He practises on the training field every day. I know some of them have not gone his way this season. It shows the hard work he’s put in behind the scenes.
“You see it in normal play, with the way that he shoots, that’s what he did for the free-kick.” And on Rashford scoring from the spot in the first half having missed from 12 yards against Norwich at the weekend, James added:
“He missed a pen last week but he’s come here today with great courage to take it again, unbelievable character to get that first goal.
“It was important.
We all believe in him.
“We were never going to change the penalty taker.”
MARCUS Rashford’s free-kick for United against Chelsea had everyone – including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – making comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Reds striker secured a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, booking his side’s place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Colchester United at Old Trafford after the draw was made yesterday.
But Rashford also created a slice of history, by recreating Ronaldo’s most famous United free-kick, which came against Portsmouth at Old Trafford in 2008.
“It’s very Cristiano-like, isn’t it?” Solskjaer said after the game, before revealing how Rashford works on his free-kicks behind closed doors – against the manager’s instructions.
“I think he works too much on [free-kicks in training],” Solskjaer added.
“I’ve always tried to get Marcus scoring the simple tap-ins and be inside the box, he always scores great goals, he practises and today he got his reward.
“Marcus has that strike in him. I’ve seen him in training so many times and it’s got to be hitting the target soon, you think, because he’s had a few efforts and finally it goes in.”
The similarities with Ronaldo are uncanny and fans joined Solskjaer in making the comparison, although Rashford’s was a few yards further out than Ronaldo’s 30-yard effort, which beat a despairing David James in a midweek Premier League game in January 2008.
The dip imparted by both players, using the ‘knuckleball’ technique pioneered by Ronaldo, is again almost identical.
Rashford is in a more central position, but with only a four-man wall to deliver the ball up and over, whereas Ronaldo has five Portsmouth players and two of his own to lift it over, and less distance to do it. It also came in the opposite corner to Ronaldo’s most famous effort.
Rashford’s goal broke a long drought for the United man from free-kicks, his last strikes coming against Cardiff and Newcastle in Solskjaer’s first four games after replacing Jose Mourinho.
“He must have been watching Cristiano when he was practising,” said Solskjaer on the strike at St James’ Park in January this year.
Rashford has been coy on where he learned the technique and said the Mitre balls used in the Carabao Cup proved conducive to his technique. It was a Nike Premier League ball that Ronaldo hit versus Portsmouth.
“To be honest, it was the balls,” Rashford said. “When we were training with them and we were shooting there was this up and down motion and they can go anywhere.
“Thankfully, today it went in the top corner.”