Despite dominating the majority of the game against West Ham on Monday evening, at times it looked liked Manchester United would never make the breakthrough.
That was until Jose Mourinho made the move to bring on Marcus Rashford in place of the faltering Jesse Lingard in the 58th minute.
Rashford’s presence immediately sparked Manchester United into life and made the difference in finally breaking a dogged West Ham defence down.
The teenager hasn’t bedded himself into Mourinho’s side in the way he might have hoped after last season’s starring role, but the weekend’s FA Cup clash against Reading is the perfect opportunity for him to get back into the team and prove to everyone he deserves a spot ahead of others in the Red Devils’ squad.
Here are THREE reasons why Rashford must return against Reading…
Off the ball movement
What Rashford offered most coming off the bench at West Ham was his off the ball movement that dragged players out of position and allowed his team-mates to move into positions to really create danger.
His pace is frightening for most defences in the Premier League, never mind that of Reading’s in the Championship.
If unleashed in the FA Cup on the wide pitch at Old Trafford and he could run riot, especially with the confidence-boosting performance at the London Stadium behind him.
Isolating full-backs
Rashford’s ability to stretch defences comes from the way he can isolate full-backs and take them on one-on-one. We saw that at the London Stadium and an opportunity from the start against Reading could prove fruitful.
That was the instruction from Mourinho on Monday night and he followed it to great effect, assisting Juan Mata’s vital opener just minutes after coming off the bench.
United have often been missing that kind of wing-play recently, often opting to cut inside and try to force the issue through the middle. Rashford gives them a different dimension and different option, taking his man to the touchline and either bursting past him or delivering a cross.
He hasn’t started since November
Rashford hasn’t had the chance to impact a game from the start since the 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in December.
He has had made nine substitute appearances since then, but it’s time for him to get his chance and a home game against lower league opposition would be the perfect time.
Mourinho has shown he will give players an opportunity who impress – Henrikh Mkhitaryan a case in point – so after Monday’s starring role, Rashford deserves to finally come back into the first-team.
The youngster put together a string of good performances earlier in the season, scoring four goals in six appearances across August and September, and if Mourinho can tap into that again it will only be a massive positive for the Red Devils.
