Ole: Marcus can be Reds’ special Ron
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer expects Marcus Rashford to develop into a top-tier No.9 after his matchwinning performance against Newcastle.
The United forward’s free-kick led to Romelu Lukaku’s 64th-minute opener and the 21-year-old then scored his third goal in four games under the Norwegian to seal the Reds’ victory in the 80th minute at St James’s Park.
Rashford free-kicks have broken the deadlock in two of Solskjaer’s matches and the caretaker boss believes the United No.10 is starting to mimic Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I can talk about loads of individuals,” Solskjaer replied when it was suggested Rashford was a talisman in the side. “But when you’re a striker like he is, scored such a great goal like today, calm, composed, just passes it past the goalkeeper.
“But his free-kicks, that was the start against Cardiff, and then he does it again, he’s got a great hit. He must have been watching Cristiano when he was practising.
“Tough test [playing up front on his own]. He gets kicked, and he gets tackled, he goes for headers, he wins, he challenges, he runs. He is going to be a top, top No.9, definitely.
“But then we’ve got Rom, so sometimes he’ll play on the right, sometimes on the left, sometimes through the middle, he’ll get games.”
Solskjaer approached the United fans at full-time to savour his fourth straight victory – emulating Sir Matt Busby’s feat – and was grateful for their support.
“I’ve had that ever since my first second at this club,” Solskjaer explained.
“I scored after six minutes and since then they’ve been shouting my name and you never forget.
“It’s so humbling, but a fantastic experience, of course, to hear their songs.
“It’s big, it’s important you celebrate these wins, you’ve got to enjoy the journey, not just the end product and that’s time to celebrate and pat yourselves on the back.”
Solskjaer brushed off the Busby statistic, though. “That will be in the books but it’s nothing I’m thinking of,” he added. “I’m just thinking about the next game.”
Paul Pogba may miss that next game against Reading in the FA Cup after limping away from St James’ Park. The Frenchman completed 90 minutes but was subjected to a number of heavy challenges from Newcastle.
One such challenge, from substitute Jonjo Shevley, went viral on social media and the Newcastle midfielder was lucky to avoid a red card for a dangerous tackle from behind.
Pogba has been in inspired from under Solskjaer and has been directly involved in seven goals in the last four games.