RASH DECISION
Man Utd’s draw with Leicester could be the day Marcus Rashford realised he may have to quit Old Trafford after snub
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MARCUS RASHFORD now knows where he stands with Ralf Rangnick.
And that’s nowhere.
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There can be no other conclusion for him to make after he was left on the bench for the start of the clash with Leicester.
Cristiano Ronaldo was missing because he was ill while Mason Greenwood is suspended.
Edinson Cavani was injured a few days earlier playing for Uruguay against Chile.
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Yet interim manager Rangnick, without another striker in his squad, still chose to ignore Rashford and play Bruno Fernandes up front on his own.
Now it could be argued that Rashford has not exactly been in sparkling form this season.
By the time he did get on the pitch, not long before Kelechi Iheanacho nodded the visitors ahead in the 63rd minute, he had scored only five goals all season.
And he has never impressed as a central striker, always a far better bet loping into the middle from the left wing.
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Even so. He is a proper front man.
Fernandes, as he proved during his cameo, is anything but.
The Portuguese was presented with golden opportunity in the 17th minute by Fred but with plenty of time and space to work in he toe – poked straight at Kasper Schmeichel.
For the rest of the time the playmaker looked lost and lonely as he half – heartedly tried to chase down opposition clearances.
Rashford is understood to be considering his future having become disillusioned with life at Old Trafford amidst a decline that cost Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his job and will means that Rangnick moves upstairs this summer into his advisory role.
FRESH START
After this slight he may be more convinced that he really should move on.
His latest omission from the line-up that kicked off means that he has failed to start five of United's last six Premier League matches.
He also began United’s 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on the bench prior to the international break.
The 24 year old could even take it that he is being effectively told by Rangnick that he truly should consider a future elsewhere.
Former Reds skipper Gary Neville certainly believes that Rashford has some serious thinking to do.
GARY'S VERDICT
He declared: “Manchester United started off the season with Cavani, Greenwood, Rashford, Martial and Ronaldo and they ended up with no centre-forward against Manchester City and against Leicester.
“One of those centre-forwards is on the bench, Marcus Rashford.
"We spoke about Harry Maguire coming out of a bit of a tough period, but Marcus Rashford is having a massive low.
“To not be in that Manchester United team (given the absentees) is saying something.
"To play without a centre-forward at home against Leicester when he has had a couple of weeks break is a big decision by Ralf Rangnick."
It was a terrible decision, in fact.
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United were toothless other than that one chance throughout so much of the game – one that was so important to them if they were to have any chance of sneaking into a top four spot and the Champions League next season.
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This clash may well go down as the one that cost them that chance.
If may also be seen as the red letter day when Marcus Rashford realised that he may have to exit stage left from the Theatre of Dreams.
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