Erik Ten Hag Hails Marcus Rashford’s Return To Form At Manchester United
by Sam Pilger · ForbesManchester United manager Erik ten Hag has welcomed Marcus Rashford’s return to goalscoring form in the last week.
Rashford has scored three goals in his last two games; one against Southampton on Saturday in a 3-0 win at Southampton in the Premier League, and two against Barnsley at Old Trafford on Tuesday in a 7-0 win in the Carabao Cup.
"The goals not only have to come from Marcus Rashford," Ten Hag said. "We need more goalscorers but I know from my first season here when he scores then it's easier for the team when you have a player in your squad who is a guarantee for goals.”
"Then it can make the difference. You can do a lot of things very good between the boxes but football matches are decided in the box.”
"I'm not only expecting this from Marcus Rashford, I expect it from others who are in the prime of their career but we also have some others who are high potentials, they are very hungry to score goals. But more important they want to win, to win games and win trophies.”
Rashford scored a career-high 30 goals in the 2022-23 season, but his output slumped to just eight goals last season as his confidence suffered.
"Confidence is a big part of it, it is not everything, there are also other parts but confidence is a big part and I think Rashford is a big guy,” Ten Hag said. “He's scored so many goals, he's one in the list of current United goal scorers, he is on top of it, so he is a big guy.”
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"But you are as good as your last game and every time you have to prove it. But I have even seen the biggest guys, the biggest football players, when they are not performing and when strikers are not scoring, they drop in confidence, it doesn't matter who."
Beyond Rashford there was a lot to admire about United’s convincing win over Barnsley, with Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen scoring two goals each, and Antony converting a penalty.
“First of all, it was a difficult start but, once we found the shape, it’s not so weird because it’s the first time this team is playing together,” Ten Hag said.
“But once we found the shape and the patterns, we scored some great goals, starting with Marcus Rashford which was a brilliant goal but I’d also say some other goals were really good. We played with a lot of speed and we were very ruthless in front of the goal.”
“The key was finding the shape and, of course, the right attitude. We were 100 per cent concentrated and we certainly played very good. I think it was enjoyable to watch and also the fans they liked it and appreciated it. You could feel again the good bond between the team and the fans and we gave the fans some nice goals.”
“It’s most important that we defend well as a team and when we have that right aggressive attitude, then I know that those players will score goals. When we get them in the right spaces, they are very difficult to defend. They are so quick, they are so energetic, they are electric, they can be direct. First of all, when the team cohesion is good, they will score goals.”
Ten Hag was also able to give a full debut to Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte who signed last month from Paris Saint-Germain. “I think he was good. Also for him, in the first minutes, you have to find your position and, as a team, you have to find the right shape. Once we got it, then you see his level and he can really strengthen the squad and the team.”