Marcus Rashford made a rod for his own back last week, and bizarre though it sounds after his stunning goal, his response in the Manchester derby had to be better.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With the Manchester United squad costing the club a fortune to put together, but the matchday group featuring nine academy players, ahead of kick-off we were faced with the tantalising prospect of ‘Ten Hag’s kids’ or ‘billion pound bottlejobs’ both being viable narrative arcs for the days and weeks to come on the back of the Manchester derby. Neither were likely.
It was difficult to imagine a scenario in which Ten Hag would turn to Willy Kambwala, Omari Forson, Roby Collyer or Habeeb Ogunneye to make the academy graduates an acclaim worthy story, and United ‘bottling’ a game against City would require some expectation of victory, which there plainly wasn’t.
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But the youthfulness of the bench, along with Kambwala and Forson’s involvement, is indicative of a defensive injury crisis that Ten Hag deserves at least as much credit as Jurgen Klopp for managing. United went to City without five of their first team defenders and didn’t get spanked.
A 3-1 defeat to Manchester City being one of Mancester United’s best performances of the season – certainly before Foden’s second in the 80th minute – is telling, and no doubt a painful reality for the United fans, for whom the gap between the two sides may never have felt greater. But United were ahead for over half of this game and looked like claiming a battling point for the vast majority of it. Disappointment rather than shame being the overriding emotion at the end of this game is a win, of sorts.
When Marcus Rashford – he of five Premier League goals this season, who miscontrolled and air-kicked his way through the rest of this game – is battering a 0.03 xG chance into the top corner from 25 yards, and Erling Haaland – who scored five goals last time out and has just under a goal a game in 83 appearances for Manchester City – volleys a 0.93 xG chance over the bar from two yards out, we thought the only possible condition for Manchester United victory at the Etihad had come to pass: Manchester City were having ‘one of those days’.
Phil Foden turned it on in the second half, scoring two wonderful goals, as his other, more venerated teammates stuttered in the face of United’s low block. Haaland – before being gifted a goal in injury time – did very little, while Kevin De Bruyne struggled for his creative spark.
And Foden’s display was at odds with that of his compatriot, whom he may well be vying with for a place in the starting lineup for England. At this rate it will be an easy choice for Gareth Southgate.
Phil Foden turned the Manchester derby on its head.
Rashford briefly did his talking on the pitch after he piled the pressure on himself with his interview in the Players’ Tribune last week, striking the ball absurdly sweetly on the run to open the scoring, but from that point on it was more of what we’ve seen all too frequently this season. His response having hit out at his critics had to better than what he showed, with that superb goal set to grant him leeway he doesn’t deserve.
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Two very good counter-attacking opportunities broke down as a result of poor touches from Rashford, who shot at nothing when presented with one very good opportunity, had the fewest touches of anyone on the pitch with 23, none of which were in the opposition box, the fewest passes (12), completed no dribbles, was the only starting outfield player for United not to make a tackle, and was culpable for the City equaliser, having lost out to Kyle Walker, who continually got the better of him in foot races and wrestles.
Ten Hag went mad on the touchline as Rashford called for a foul from the deck, but Walker was just faster, stronger and smarter, as he proved to be throughout a game which could have been won by Rashford through his stunning strike, but wasn’t, and was arguably lost through his lack of quality and strength when other half chances arose.
This could have been the turning point for Rashford, but instead the pressure remains on a guy who’s put the spotlight on himself with claims we should never doubt his commitment to the club. And we’re not. Bizarre though it is after that goal, we’re doubting his quality.
