The England striker has scored just one goal all season and looks shorn of confidence, but Erik ten Hag needs to keep backing him
The last time Erik ten Hag brought Anthony Martial on at Old Trafford, he did so to a cacophony of boos. The manager had just taken off the lively Rasmus Hojlund against Brighton and the Manchester United fans were livid as they wanted to see more of the exciting Danish striker.
They seemed to think that taking Hojlund off for Martial showed a lack of ambition from the manager and was the opposite way to get back into a game they were trailing in. However, when the Dutchman brought Martial on against Crystal Palace on Saturday and took off Marcus Rashford, there was no outcry from the 70,000 home supporters. And that said it all.
The man who scored 30 times last season in all competitions and was named the club's player of the year looked like being the least likely source of a goal. And this was by no means an exception – Rashford has simply not looked right for the majority of the season. In eight matches in all competitions he has scored just once and provided only two assists.
After resurrecting his career last season, Rashford looks back at the level he was two years ago, when it looked as if he were heading towards the exit door. But no matter how tempting it might be to drop Rashford and unleash Alejandro Garnacho on the left of United's attack, this is the time for United and Ten Hag to stand by their faltering talisman.
Getty ImagesStarting off out of position
Rashford had some excuse for his slow start to the season as he began the campaign playing as a centre-forward due to the injuries to both Martial and new signing Hojlund. The striker has been open about the fact he feels most comfortable on the left wing as he can feel isolated up front on his own, even comparing the role to playing as a goalkeeper.
"Left is easier to stay in the game, and from when I was young I've always wanted to be involved in the game," he told Gary Neville on . "That's why I struggle playing centre-forward sometimes because of my patience. You might not touch the ball for 20 minutes, and then your first touch might be an opportunity to score. You have to be mentally switched on."
He was ineffective against Wolves and Tottenham while playing up front on his own, with United's only goal across those two games coming via a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Raphael Varane.
AdvertisementGetty Brief return to form
Rashford returned to his favoured role in the third game of the season against Nottingham Forest and has kept playing off the left since. And at first he looked like the brilliant player he was last season again.
He had a strong display against Forest, being involved in all three of United's goals. He set up Christian Eriksen's strike, played a sumptuous pass in the build-up to Casemiro's equaliser and then earned the penalty from which Bruno Fernandes scored to complete the 3-2 comeback win.
Rashford also did well in his next outing at Arsenal, scoring the opening goal in the 3-1 defeat by cutting in from the left wing and smashing the ball in off the far post. He even performed well in the 3-1 defeat to Brighton, but just lacked a bit of luck. He smashed a shot against the crossbar and looked to have set up an equaliser for Hojlund, only for VAR to rule that he had taken the ball out of play.
But it has been all downhill since then, particularly on an individual level.
GettyBad vs Bayern & Burnley, worse vs Palace
Rashford had a good start against Bayern Munich and had the run of makeshift right-back Konrad Laimer early in the game, but once the Bavarians went ahead thanks to Andre Onana's clanger, his influence soon faded.
He was almost anonymous against Burnley three days later, when United rode their luck and needed a shared moment of inspiration from Jonny Evans and Fernandes to snatch a 1-0 win. Rashford failed to put Burnley's defence under any sort of pressure and looked unenthusiastic when he pressed, especially when compared with Hojlund and Hannibal Mejbri.
The limp defeat to Palace, when United failed to create many clear chances, was the nadir of an already bad season for Rashford. When he got down the left wing early in the match he kept on getting crowded out by Palace's defenders or making the wrong decision. At one stage he beat his man by the byline and attempted to cross into the box, hooking the ball aimlessly into the sky and outside of the area. It ended up hitting Scott McTominay and leading to Casemiro fizzing a shot just wide, but it did not look like a very logical route to goal.
When he switched to the right of the attack after Garnacho was brought on, he was even less effective and barely saw any of the ball while the Argentine looked like United's best chance of finding an equaliser.
Getty ImagesNot creating enough clear chances
But while Rashford's struggles came in for heavy focus after the defeat by Palace, it is clear that he is a symptom of United's overall problems rather than the cause. Quite simply, Ten Hag's side are not creating enough clear chances.
United currently sit 10th in the Premier League on nine points from seven matches, their worst start to a season in 34 years. They are ranked 12th on goals scored, with seven in seven games. When it comes to expected goals, they are 11th, below Chelsea and relegation-fighting Everton.
When it comes to shots on goal, Ten Hag's side fare better, ranking sixth in the league with 15 per match. Against Palace, for example, they had 19. But they are back down to the middle of the table when it comes to shots on target, sitting in 12th with four per match (Tottenham are top of both shot metrics, followed by Manchester City and Brighton).
There is a clear downturn this season compared to last, when United ranked third on shots on goal per match and second in shots on target per match. However, it should not be forgotten that even when United finished third last season, they only scored 58 goals, making them joint-seventh in the metric along with Brentford and lower than every other team to finish in the top six. They ranked sixth on expected goals.