Man U boss Erik ten Hag believes Marcus Rashford ‘is capable of scoring goals in every game’ despite drought

Erik ten Hag’s first season at Manchester United delivered loads of optimism, largely due to Marcus Rashford’s advantageous kind. The mainstay notched a powerful 30 targets throughout all competitions final season because the crew completed third within the Premier League and added a League Cup to the trophy cupboard, and left many with the sensation that one other comparable season can be forward.

This season, although, has to this point been a pointy distinction from the final. The crew has simply three wins in seven league matches and enter matchday two of the Champions League winless. The hunch can be mirrored in Rashford’s kind — he’s removed from the goalscoring exploits of final season, and has only one aim on the board in eight video games.

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Ten Hag, although, has not misplaced religion in Rashford and nonetheless considers him central to United’s success this season. In his pre-match feedback on Monday earlier than the squad’s Champions League tie with Galatasaray, the supervisor famous the participant’s less-than-ideal run isn’t right down to an absence of attempting.

“The details are he’s not scoring on this second, however he had alternatives,” ten Hag mentioned, per ESPN. “He had 5 or 6 in opposition to Brighton and if he works exhausting, if he invests each day, goes with the suitable focus and if the crew round him provide and assist him and help him with motion then it is going to come. Marcus Rashford is a participant who’s able to scoring targets in each recreation and when he is available in the suitable spot, he’ll rating.”

Ten Hag’s feedback have a kernel of fact in them. For starters, he undersold the participant’s efficiency of their 3-1 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion final month — he had 9 whole pictures. His shot-taking is up this season to 4.13 pictures per 90 minutes in league play after he averaged 3.37 pictures per recreation in the course of the earlier marketing campaign.

The standard of these pictures, although, is a distinct story. Rashford notched simply two pictures on course out of 9 in opposition to Brighton and an total anticipated targets tally of 0.69, revealing a bent to misfire that has plagued him all season.

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His anticipated targets per recreation is down from 0.5 final season to 0.4 throughout this marketing campaign, and the identical is true for pictures on aim and pictures on aim share. Rashford had 1.56 pictures on aim per recreation in the course of the 2022-23 season, whereas 46.3% of his pictures have been on aim. This season, the figures are right down to 0.89 and 21.4%, respectively. Rashford’s shot on aim share per recreation is at its lowest within the final 4 seasons.

Regardless of the downturn in goalscoring kind, Rashford has improved as a playmaker this season. Although he’s averaging roughly the identical variety of assists as he was final season, his anticipated assists tally per recreation is as much as 0.19 from 0.09 and he’s averaging 1.33 possibilities per 90, greater than the 0.93 he posted final season. He’s additionally averaging extra anticipated assists than he has within the final 4 seasons.

The numbers paint an fascinating image, that of a participant who’s sacrificing his personal means to get into prime areas as a way to set his teammates up in these spots, but it surely’s coming as Rashford logs main minutes at striker as a substitute of on the wing.

Regardless, his contributions might be excellent news for brand spanking new United striker Rasmus Hojlund, who’s being touted as the reply to the crew’s lengthy lasting seek for a goalscorer up prime and somebody Ten Hag hopes will construct a deadly relationship with Rashford going ahead. These stats may be an indication that Rashford’s function is evolving inside ten Hag’s crew, although it may be too early to say that for certain.

That mentioned, it appears pretty clear that Rashford’s rocky begin is linked to United’s up-and-down kind to this point this season. It’s hardly the one factor retaining the crew down — ten Hag’s damage disaster in protection means his crew has been awfully weak within the again — however a reversal of Rashford’s fortunes may present the spark for the squad’s course correction alongside the way in which.

The best way to watch and odds

• Date: Tuesday, Oct. 3 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Previous Trafford — Manchester, England
• Reside stream: Paramount+
• Odds: Manchester United -225; Draw +360; Galatasaray +550

Matchday 2 TV schedule

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