Manchester United were handed a humiliating defeat by Liverpool at Old Trafford in the English Premier League. The Red Devils are on a poor form of run lately in domestic competition and have just earned one point in the previous four games. However, they are boosted by the return of their star man Marcus Rashford. The forward missed the starting of the season due to surgery and now has returned to the team.
Rashford was introduced in the game against Leicester City and the player scored a goal after coming off the bench. The England international has featured in three games for the club this season. He started the Champions League match against Atalanta and the derby match against rivals Liverpool.
The forward has operated from his favoured position on the left and has scored two goals in three appearances. He has spent 166 minutes on the pitch and has attempted nine shots with three shots on target. His second goal came against Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League in which he attempted six shots, six dribbles and took five touches in the opposition box.
Manchester United fans could get a boost if we look at Rashford’s stats from last season. When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar the better the performance – you can see the league average in the middle and the % is the percentile rank the player is in. These are his attacking and creativity stats in comparison to other players in the league.
The forward scored 11 goals in 37 appearances and averaged 0.32 goals per 90. He even provided nine assists. The forward attempted more than two shots per game and his xG rate per 90 was 0.26. He created more than 11 attacking actions per 90 and took more than four touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes. Rashford has better percentile stats than most of the players. He was also influential in the European competition and scored eight goals in 13 matches.
The above viz shows the shot map of Marcus Rashford from last season in the Premier League. The players like to cut inside and attempt a shot towards the opposition goal. He scored eight goals from inside the opposition 18-yard box and three goals were scored from outside the box. More than 80% of the shots have been attempted from the left side.
Manchester United were without a natural left-sided winger. Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo who started their careers on the left now feature as strikers in the team. Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho were used on the left in the previous matches. Rashford’s inclusion in the team has given options to the manager. His pace and shooting ability is a threat to the opposition goal. The player will look to find his touch as soon as possible and help his team to earn victories and glory this season.
