JEREMY CROSS COLUMN: Marcus Rashford has hit a purple patch with Manchester United with seven goals in six games since arriving back from the World Cup – with 18 strikes for club and country this season
Marcus Rashford is the renaissance man the whole of English football is talking about.
Rashford has gone from the fallen star to one of the brightest in the game again following a blistering run of scoring form for Manchester United.
He’s been so good in recent weeks that he’s outdoing a certain Wayne Rooney – and even appears to have got Pep Guardiola panicking ahead of tomorrow’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
Guardiola claims to have a “ridiculous” tactical plan rattling around in his head – and part of it might just involve how to stop Rashford from scoring. That’s because Rashford has plundered seven goals in his last six games and also scored in his last eight successive home matches.
The purple patch has seen him eclipse Rooney’s record of seven and he now has Dennis Viollett’s all-time club record of scoring in nine home games on the spin set in 1959 in his sights.
Heck, Rashford has even outscored Erling Haaland since the domestic season resumed following the World Cup. Rashford’s home comforts have been thrilling to witness.
It’s no coincidence that his exploits have come at a time when he appears to have scaled back on his commitments off the pitch – so he can focus on being the best he can be on it. And it’s also no coincidence Rashford has stepped up to the plate following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rashford is loving life under Erik ten Hag following a damaging season last time out. This saw him go more than three months without a single goal, lose his place in the England squad and manage just five all season.
But while Rashford’s comeback is great for the game, it’s also worth noting that his recent goals have come against struggling teams. Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Bournemouth and Everton are all in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Burnley are in the Championship, while Charlton operate in League One.
It might seem churlish to question him during the middle of such a purple patch. But if Rashford wants to be considered the real deal again he needs to produce the goods against the likes of City and league leaders Arsenal, who United face in the space of the next eight days.
The greats of the game deliver in the biggest games and when it matters most. The likes of Kylian Mbappe showed this in the World Cup final when he scored a hat-trick to cement his place in footballing folklore, despite ending up on the losing team.
Rashford earned comparisons with Mbappe a few years ago and the pair became good friends. But Mbappe continues to operate at a different level to Rashford – and it’s one the latter should be aiming to reach himself.
It feels like Rashford is heading towards the most defining time of his career. He’s now 25, has 108 career goals for United, a new contract to negotiate and could even go on to challenge Rooney’s all-time record of 253 if he decided to pledge the rest of his career to the club.
The chance is now there for Rashford to establish himself as United’s talisman – and taking down those “noisy neighbours” from across town would be an ideal place to start.
SOURCE: dailystar.co.uk
