Marcus Rashford has been outstanding for Manchester United in recent weeks on the left wing.
Against Leeds he played everywhere but. He started the game on United’s right wing, with Antony out injured.
As we have seen before, this is a position where Rashford is not very effective. Then on 59 minutes, with Wout Weghorst substituted as part of a double-change, United’s top scorer moved into the centre.
Rashford looked lively in attack, scoring a header to pull United back into the game, before Jadon Sancho netted an equaliser.
READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfers in, out, loan deals for January 2023
Rashford praised as central striker
One of the takeaways from the 2-2 draw was Wout Weghorst’s laboured performance up front being outshone by Rashford.
After netting his 20th goal of the season so far, Rashford showed he can be just as effective in a central role as on the left – just don’t pick him on the right.
His performance was praised on MUTV, with two pundits talking up his impact to haul United back into the game.
Former trainee Danny Webber said he could tell the Leeds defenders were scared when Rashford led the attack instead of Weghorst.
He said: “I’d play Marcus through the middle [on Sunday]. He changed the game running in behind. You could see defenders were so scared of him.”
Former United defender David May added: “It was a great header, he’s bringing that to his game. Marcus was a real bright spark.
“As a defender its an absolute nightmare playing against that pace.”
United face Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday and the Red Devils have been warned after this result. It’s certainly possible that Ten Hag could look to change it up and play Rashford centrally.
After finding a system where United ended the game on top, it would make sense for Ten Hag to stick with it.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
