RASH TALKIN

Ralf’s chats with Marcus over striker’s drop in fo

BY JEREMY CROSS

RALF RANGNICK has held talks with Marcus Rashford about his dramatic loss of form.

Manchester United striker Rashford is going through one of the worst slumps of his career.

The England star has scored just five goals all season and only twice since October.

The 24-year-old was hauled off following another woeful performance in United’s 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in midweek.

Anthony Elanga (right, top) came off the bench to score, and some fans are now calling for

Rashford to be axed altogether. He missed the start of the season following a shoulder operation in the wake of England’s Euro

2020 campaign. But Rangnick says Rashford (below) is not injured and that there is no obvious reason why he is struggling so badly for form.

United’s interim boss said: “He is definitely not injured. He definitely has no issues with his shoulder any more.

“We have spoken a lot about Marcus in the last couple of weeks and I have personally spoken a lot with him. When it counts and they are on the pitch, they just have to perform and I am pretty sure he is not happy with his performances right now. Is he not happy? I don’t see any reason why he should not be happy? Our results have been good in the last couple of weeks and months. “Right now he is trying to find his best possible shape and performance, and we just try to give him a helping hand with everything we can. We show him video footage and we speak with him regularly.

“In training he is in top form. That is why I decided to play him in Madrid. Now it’s about having that transformation from training performance to the competition in the league. That is the next step he has to take.”

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