Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has defended Marcus Rashford following his poor performance in the defeat at Newcastle United.
Erik ten Hag took his side up to St James’ Park on Saturday evening but many fans will probably feel that they shouldn’t have bothered making the trip.
United were pretty dreadful throughout and were lucky to only lose 1-0 as Anthony Gordon scored the only goal of the game.
Newcastle were by far the better side and cut through United at will, sparking major questions about Ten Hag and many of his players.
Marcus Rashford struggles in Manchester United defeat
Arguably the most disappointing performance came from Marcus Rashford.
We all want to see Rashford thrive in a United shirt but Saturday was not his night.
The stats are damning; no shots on target, no key passes, no accurate crosses, one successful dribble and just 11 completed passes.
Rashford was not only completely ineffectual on the ball but also seemed disinterested off it as Valentino Livramento blazed beyond him on multiple occasions.
Ten Hag hooked Rashford in the second half and some will argue that he should have been substituted earlier having served up a wretched performance.
Rashford was so good last season but looks a shadow of his former self this term, with his body language leaving supporters concerned.
Harry Maguire defends Rashford display
Defender Harry Maguire has now publicly defended Rashford having spoken to TNT Sports following Saturday’s defeat on Tyneside.
Maguire suggested that Rashford was ‘unbelievable’ last season but accepts that things just haven’t clicked for him this term.
Th England international does though believe that Rashford is working very hard in training at Carrington and trying everything to get back into form.
Maguire notes that everybody in the United dressing room is backing Rashford, believing that he will get back to his best soon enough.
“Marcus had an unbelievable season last season, scored numerous goals for us. This season, it hasn’t clicked for him, but he’s working hard, he’s putting everything into it in training. Everyone in that dressing room knows what Marcus is and what he’s about, and he’ll get back to his best I’m sure,” he added.
We had hoped to see Rashford kick on after scoring from the penalty spot against Everton last weekend.
Bruno Fernandes handed him that spot kick to try and help build Rashford’s confidence, but he was woeful against Newcastle.
It’s a case of one step forward, two steps back at the moment, but it’s great to see that Maguire and co are behind him.
Rashford started exploding into form in the winter of 2022, so we can only hope that a similar run is on the horizon soon – even if it seems unlikely right now.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
