If you said before the season to Marcus Rashford that by early December he would be on 10 goals already, he would have taken that.
He is almost halfway to the 22 he netted last season, and impressively, six of his goals have come in the Champions League.
Rashford’s output is more impressive compared to the inconsistent form of his fellow forwards – Mason Greenwood is warming up on three goals and Anthony Martial has disappointed with just two.
So while Rashford should be pleased with his overall record, it is bittersweet because he could have netted far more.
The West Ham game was a case in point. Rashford missed an easy one on one when he beat the goalkeeper but hit the post.
Missed opportunities
Rashford’s season is a tale of missed chances as much as it is the impressive goals he has scored.
He missed a simple chance against Everton when put through by Fred, and also blew opportunities in the 0-0 draw against Chelsea which cost two points.
He somehow contrived to miss a simple chance from close range in a tight game with West Brom at Old Trafford a fortnight ago.
Pointing out all of these missed chances is not to get on Rashford’s case; it is more to illustrate how many goals he could have scored if he was more ruthless.
Rashford should really be on 15 goals by now and not 10. Indeed he will look at his tally of three Premier League goals and conclude he has to do better.
Desire and ruthlessness
For Rashford to improve, he needs to accept his 10 goal return is good, but could be better.
If he applies this constructive criticism to his own finishing, then he will work hard at it to get better.
Rashford can be ruthless; he was when he scored his first ever hat-trick at home to RB Leipzig, a big step forward.
Since then he has gone back to how he was before; an inconsistent finisher.
Rashford is looking good to break the 20 goal barrier for the second successive season. But if he wants to get past 30, then he needs to become more clinical.
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