It was another frustrating evening in front of goal for Marcus Rashford, even though his Manchester United side progressed in the FA Cup after beating Nottingham Forest.
With Rasmus Hojlund still on the sidelines, Erik ten Hag opted to start Marcus Rashford centrally at the City Ground.
Whilst Casemiro saved Manchester United’s blushes with a late headed goal, it was another game without a goal for their morale-sapped academy star.
After the game, both Wayne Rooney and Gary Lineker were in agreement that playing as a number nine ‘isn’t his perfect position’ and that he is lacking in confidence, as they told BBC One.
It’s not like the £300k-a-week star didn’t have his chances, they were provided to him, including near the penalty area, but his effort blazed over the bar.
Many people criticise Marcus Rashford’s body language and how it can translate negatively when things aren’t going well.
But Wayne Rooney wants his senior teammates – Casemiro, Raphael Varane and Bruno Fernandes – to ‘have a go at him’, so they fire him up and he starts to perform.
Marcus Rashford misfires again for Manchester United
“Another relatively quiet night for Marcus Rashford,” said Lineker. “It’s not his perfect position, I don’t think.”
Rooney agreed and responded: “When you play as a number nine, you need the team to create chances for you. I don’t think we created that many chances for him. But I do think he needs to be more ruthless. He needs to be a bit more patient and stay in the middle of the goal, but you have to be ruthless. The chance he had on his left foot, I am sure he will be disappointed with that. I just want to see a little bit more.
On why it’s so different from this season to last season: “A number of factors, I suppose,” added Rooney, with Lineker interrupting and saying’ ‘confidence’.
“Confidence is the main one,” continued Man United’s all-time leading goalscorer. “When you are playing and scoring goals, you feel like you are going to score every game. But when you aren’t scoring that regularly, then you need to get that confidence back. I think he maybe needs to simplify his game to get back into the groove.
“Marcus isn’t the most vocal lad, so I think for him it’s difficult because his body language doesn’t look great. He’s not like that. That’s where Casemiro, Varane and Bruno. That’s where they have to get more out of him. Bigger personalities. Having a go at him to get him fired up a little bit and get a reaction from him.”
Manchester United v Liverpool in the FA Cup
It’s the small matter of English football’s biggest heavyweights trading blows at Old Trafford for a place in the semi-final of the FA Cup next month – Roy Keane reacted to the draw.
This is a huge game for both sides and it will be less than a month before they meet again for a Premier League showdown.
This is Man United’s chance to stop their old rivals from ending on such a high in Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield.
But, equally, this is Liverpool’s opportunity to pile more misery and put more pressure on ten Hag because his future will seriously be questioned if he loses this game.
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