Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag heaped praise on Marcus Rashford following the club’s disappointing 2-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion yesterday.
The Red Devils made the worst possible start to the new campaign on Sunday. They were down 2-0 after just 39 minutes, and failed to recover the deficit despite a better second-half showing.
United got one goal back from an Alexis Mac Allister own goal in the 68th minute, but the game could have been completely different if they were able to convert their chances at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes missed a glorious early chance blazing over the bar. Rashford was also guilty of squandering two opportunities. One of those was a one-on-one with the keeper and he was onside.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Ten Hag took the positives from Rashford’s performance and said that it’s a pity that his team could not level up the scores at the end of 90 minutes.
He told Manutd.com: “We have two strikers, maybe a third one with Rashford as well, you could see him as a striker.”
“He had a really good pre-season on the left side and also today had two really good chances, coming in from the left side, so I think it was the right decision to do it like this.
“We create and [Marcus] Rashford had two really good chances and it’s a pity we didn’t score to make it 2-2.”
It’s a matter of time before Rashford finds his feet
Rashford should have scored at least once yesterday. The ball was put on the plate for him by Cristiano Ronaldo for the first chance, and his shot could not beat goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
The second opportunity was much more difficult with a left-footed volley, but the 24-year-old could have taken another touch. Still, there were positives to take forward from the showing.
The £54 million-rated star has looked much more livelier than the back end of last season where he barely got into scoring positions. He has definitely made an improvement in that aspect.
The England international has yet to find his feet in front of goal, but it could be a matter of time before he does so. Rashford has now got the opportunity to play in his preferred left-wing role.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com