Marcus Rashford and another horrendous season? All the signs point to it so far

Marcus Rashford was the driving force for Manchester United last season. In the current one, however, his form has plummeted and he is no longer the confident winger who terrorised every opposition defence. The 26-year-old Englishman has already had a terrible season in the past and has had a terrible one.

Rashford unstoppable

It could be said that the English winger has had the best season of his career during the tenure of Norwegian coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær. In the 2019/20 season, Manchester United finished 3rd in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals after a successful Europa League group stage. During that season, Rashford notched 22 goals and 12 assists in 44 games.

The 2020/21 season was another great one. It started with the winning goal at Princes Park in the opening Champions League group game. Unfortunately, the Red Devils failed to progress from the group after an unexpected loss to Basaksehir. However, it was a great 2nd place in the Premier League. Moreover, Rashford shone even though he had a shoulder injury, 21 goals and 15 assists in 57 games is a great record.

Moreover, Manchester United went all the way to the Europa League final after being knocked out of the Champions League. During the knockout phase, the Red Devils sovereignly handled Real Sociedad, AC Milan and last but not least, they were not enough for English big club AS Roma or Granada. In the final, however, it was a loss on penalties to another Spanish team, Villarreal.

Season 2021/22

Before the start of the season, Rashford was one of the unlucky losers of the Euro 2020 final, in which England lost to Italy after penalties. In addition, the England winger underwent surgery on his injured shoulder before the start of the Premier League season. Upon his return, however, he was not the old familiar English speedster He did not trust himself and seemed disinterested on the pitch.

For a long time, the media speculated whether it could be the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, who suddenly became the scorer of key goals that were still scored by Rashford last season. But at that time the whole team was not doing well and Solskjaer was eventually dismissed. However, even after the change of coach, the English winger did not wake up. He finished the season with a miserable stats of 5 goals and 2 assists in 32 games.

Rashford reborn

A significant change came only last season, which was Erik ten Hag’s first at Old Trafford. The Dutch coach stopped relying on Ronaldo and Rashford was able to start shining again. A goal in the Liverpool net helped the winger at the start, then came 2 more goals against Arsenal and suddenly the great supporter of the poor was brimming with confidence again.

The key phase of the season was the post-World Cup form. Rashford scored in almost every game and suddenly there was talk of his nomination for the Ballon d’Or. Unfortunately, Manchester United’s elimination by Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-finals certainly didn’t help in that regard.

The Red Devils eventually finished 3rd in the Premier League and Rashford closed the season with 30 goals, 11 assists in 56 games.

Current season

From the current numbers, we can assume that once again Rashford’s form has gone into negative numbers. A storyline that fans could observe in the 2021/22 season, a jaded Marcus playing without interest. Throughout his career, the English winger has been graced by a combativeness without the ball within the press or lightning transitions into attack and this year? A waste of words. However, it must be pointed out that once again the entire team is to blame, playing well below their capabilities.

In the language of numbers, Rashford’s season is terrible – 2 goals, 4 assists in 18 games. Sky Sports TV pundits have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the winger. Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, for example , mentioned that his behaviour reminds of Anthony Martial, who in most of the games also looks disinterested and annoyed.

If Rashford does not pick up his game, he is at risk of being sidelined. However, the Dutch coach believes he will return to his lost form. What else is there for him to do at this very difficult time?

Source: Manchester United, Premier League, Twitter