When Manchester United plays to Marcus Rashford‘s strengths, according to Erik ten Hag, he can be “unstoppable,” and former captain Roy Keane was not surprised by his performance against Everton on Friday.
In a 3-1 victory that advanced United to the FA Cup fourth round, Rashford stole the show.
At Old Trafford, the England forward set up Antony for the game’s first goal before using exquisite skill to make Conor Coady score an own goal to reverse the Everton defender’s earlier equalizer.
The third goal was scored by Rashford himself when he converted a stoppage-time penalty at the conclusion of what manager Ten Hag referred to as “90 minutes of threat.”
Keane, in his role as an ITV pundit, said: “The beauty of watching Marcus tonight was this is what I expect of him now. I’m not surprised by what I’ve seen.
“He’s becoming hopefully one of the main players for United; can he get them back to winning trophies? He’s taking responsibility.
“Tonight, with two assists and a goal, I’m thinking I expect this now from Marcus every week. He’s obviously playing with a confidence.”
For a man who has scored in five straight games and seven straight at Old Trafford, confidence is definitely important, but Ten Hag also stressed the value of his teammates.
“It’s about bringing him in the right position,” he said in a news conference. “He has to do it, but make sure as a team we create spaces, so he is coming [with] his strengths.
“That is Marcus doing really well, but also the team is doing very well to get the right shape.
Really good team performance and happy to cap it off with a goal ⚽️
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) January 6, 2023
“So, he can bring his strengths in, and I think then he is unstoppable, with his speed, with his dribbles, with his directness.”
Ten Hag, like Keane, is confident Rashford can maintain those high standards moving forward as United retain an interest on four fronts this season.
“Of course, as a striker, you measure goals [and] assists,” Ten Hag added. “Today he had two assists and one goal, so it’s great.
“He has fantastic skills, and when he has that mental stability, he can keep going.
“That demands a lot, first from him, also from us as a team, an organisation, to make sure we have the right environment, the right culture. When he keeps focused like this, I’m sure he can keep this process going.”