Rashford’s strike at Chelsea was identical to Ronaldo’s but that’s where the similarities end
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MARCUS RASHFORD’S sensational strike versus Chelsea in the Carabao Cup sent Manchester United supporters crazy on social media, and it wasn’t long before comparisons were being made with Cristiano Ronaldo and his stunning free-kick against David James and Portsmouth in 2008.
In terms of technique, they were almost identical, beautiful in the execution. Sadly, that’s where the similarities end.
But this is where online chatter and statistics can mislead people about a player’s true worth.
Now in his fifth season with the first team, before the age of 21, Rashford had a better Premier League goalscoring record than Harry Kane, Ronaldo, and Thierry Henry.
Do we think that he will go on in his career and score as many as the players mentioned? I for one hope so, but fear not.
The reality is, Rashford will never be as good as some of the biggest stars on the planet until he’s more consistent.
Also, the additional problem he has is the environment he finds himself in.
Yes, he’s got a manager in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that firmly believes in him, but he’s not a clinical number nine, and never will be.
Rashford is capable of scoring around 15 goals a season, but as a support striker playing closer to someone more clinical, or as a wide forward who can cut in and cause problems with his pace.
For whatever reason, Romelu Lukaku was sold in the summer and rather than buy a replacement, Solskjaer has placed all his goalscoring trust in Anthony Martial and Rashford, and there have been times when the Englishman in particular looks injured and/or tired.
The statistics favour Rashford this season too, despite the turbulent start. If you take a look at the Premier League goalscoring chart, he’s on the same number of goals as Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, and just one behind Tottenham’s Kane.
It all points back to the earlier point about consistency, because while his return is good, he’s also already missed two penalties, and there have been times in matches where he hasn't looked entirely comfortable in front of goal.
Hopefully though, Rashford can take his recent good form into the weekend game at Bournemouth.
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United are unbeaten in four games in all competitions and travel to the South Coast in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime, looking to extend their run.
It’s Martial who is the real one to watch though, the one who is miles ahead of Rashford in his development, and who can do the most damage if he’s declared fit.
The Frenchman has scored 13 goals and set up three more in his last 20 Premier League starts and if he plays and plays well, United have a chance of claiming back-to-back league wins for the first time since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was confirmed as permanent manager in March.
