The former Manchester United captain heaped praise on Red Devils wonderkid Marcus Rashford for his impressive performance in Saturday’s derby against Manchester City.
Marcus Rashford burst onto the scene last season when he scored an impressive brace in his first team debut against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League. He followed it up with another stellar performance on his Premier League debut against Arsenal.
The English forward subsequently became a mainstay in the United lineup till the end of the 2015-16 season under Louis van Gaal, but due to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival in the summer, Rashford has struggled to clock regular minutes on the field of play this term.
Two weeks ago, the 18-year-old came off the bench to score an injury time winner against Hull City. Few days after that, he impressed with the England U21s by scoring a hat-trick against Norway.
United boss Jose Mourinho has evidently taken note of the youngster’s impressive form over the last couple of weeks. The Portuguese manager threw him into the fray in the second half of the Manchester derby and the teenager almost managed to turn things around for his side.
Playing as a left winger, Rashford posed a constant threat and got the better of Bacary Sagna on a number of occasions. The young striker eventually managed to find the back of the net, but his goal was flagged offside as the ball went in off Ibrahimovic, who was stationed a foot ahead of the City defenders.
Rashford’s exploits in the derby have certainly not gone unnoticed as he has received tremendous praise from club legend and Sky Sports football analyst Gary Neville. Speaking to Sky Sports, the former United right-back said: “[Mourinho] wanted to get more strength into midfield with Pogba and Fellaini in front of Herrera and Rashford came on on the left.
“I thought he had an immediate impact, Rashford, for five or 10 minutes but then he didn’t get back into the game, they didn’t get the ball to him enough and when they did it didn’t happen for him.”
Manchester United begin their Europa League campaign against Feyenoord on Thursday. Mourinho has confirmed that Rashford will make his first start of the season in the game in Rotterdam.