Very little has gone right for Manchester United this season. A poor start to their Premier League campaign has led to calls for boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, despite his iconic status at Old Trafford.
However, there have been just small indications that things are moving in a more positive direction in recent games. The Red Devils have recorded three straight wins in all competitions ahead of a Saturday trip to Bournemouth.
A key to those results has been the stellar goalscoring form of England striker Marcus Rashford. The young striker turned 22 on Thursday and he had already celebrated his birthday with a brace in a 2-1 win at Chelsea in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night.
.@MarcusRashford @Cristiano 🤝 💫 Bending the laws of physics 💫 pic.twitter.com/y9Uve4fyRZ— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 31, 2019
.@MarcusRashford @Cristiano 🤝 💫 Bending the laws of physics 💫 pic.twitter.com/y9Uve4fyRZ
The double means that the forward has now scored four times in as many games in all competitions for Manchester United. Since breaking into the Red Devils team at 18, he has gone through similar scoring runs in the past.
However, as with a lot of young players, Rashford has struggled to produce on a regular basis. Boss Solskjaer placed his faith in the striker by not bringing in a replacement for the outgoing Romelu Lukaku in the summer.
Rashford has scored five times in ten Premier League appearances, which is not a terrible strike-rate. However, with the rest of the team struggling, there has been more of a burden on his shoulders to produce attacking returns.
He is still young and maturing as a person and a player, but when on form he is a matchwinner. For now, Marcus Rashford is United’s best hope for reviving what has been a floundering season so far.
The youngster is unlikely to continue his current scoring form. However, if he can remain a regular goalscorer, then he may just be United’s knight in shining red armour.