Manchester United have a £90 million midfielder (Paul Pogba), £75 million striker (Romelu Lukaku), and two attackers who cost £37 million (Juan Mata) and £35 million (Alexis Sanchez), so it was only fitting that a game against their biggest rivals was won by a player who cost them nothing.
Marcus Rashford‘s meteoric rise from the club’s academy continued on Saturday as his brace gave United a 2-1 win over Liverpool, extending the gap between the rivals to five points and putting the Red Devils in pole position for second place in the Premier League.
Here’s an in-depth look at Rashford’s performance.
KEY STATS
Goals – 2
Assists – 0
Shots – 2
Shots on target – 2
Pass Accuracy – 67%
Key Passes – 0
Dribbles – 1
Touches – 38
EFFECTIVENESS
This was the sort of performance which showed why United fans have been crying out for their academy product to be given a start. Rashford was the perfect man for Mourinho’s game plan, getting into the right positions and timing his runs to perfection to support Lukaku.
He gave Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold a horrid afternoon, and his pace, ability on the ball, and most importantly, his finishing ability made him United’s hero for the day.
Rashford’s understanding with Lukaku was crucial to United’s win.
KEY MOMENTS
14th min, GOAL: A goal that symbolised United’s strategy. Goalkeeper David de Gea’s long punt towards Lukaku was flicked on by the striker, and Rashford was the first to latch onto it. A simple move saw him get the ball onto his right foot, which he used to smash a fantastic finish past Loris Karius.
24th min, GOAL: Almost a carbon copy of the first goal. This time Lukaku got onto the end of his own attempt to win a header, and played the ball to Mata. The move eventually broke for Rashford, who, with the help of a deflection, found the corner again.
VERDICT
Rashford now has goals against Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool. It’s easy to forget that he only made his debut two years ago, but that’s quite the collection.
Then there’s this fun stat: Rashford has scored with 29% of his shots against the rest of the Premier League’s top six, compared to 10% against the top-flight’s other teams. Big-game records don’t get much better for this.
He’s made it close to impossible for Jose Mourinho to drop him for the crucial midweek Champions League second leg against Sevilla. More importantly, he has a brace against United’s biggest rivals that will stay in his memory forever.
RATING: 8/10