Prior to the sending-off of Marcus Rashford against FC Copenhagen, things were certainly rosy in the garden for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United.
The Red Devils were on cloud nine, Rasmus Hojlund had scored twice and Erik ten Hag looked to be vindicated for his team selection.
One man, in particular, was superb for the first 40 minutes and that was the under-fire winger Marcus Rashford. The Englishman featured on the opposite side and looked much more comfortable out there.
Rashford formed a nice partnership with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the pair linked up for the brilliant team goal after just two minutes.
Rashford’s impact
The red card that the Englishman received should not taint what was looking like being one of Rashford’s best games in a United shirt in recent months. The decision to play him on the right looked like a masterstroke – until his untimely red card.
It’s no secret that the Englishman has struggled hugely this season with just one goal and one assist to his name but perhaps the time is now to trial him more often on the right.
The winger completed 75 per cent of his passes and 100 per cent of his dribbles in the short time he was on the pitch but he just looked much more comfortable on the opposite flank.
The argument against using Rashford on the right has been you limit his goalscoring prowess and starting him on the left was the way forward, but the Englishman is struggling to score right now.
Rashford reacted angrily on social media to claims his future lies away from Old Trafford after a sticky start to the season.
“Left-wing,” Rashford said to Gary Neville on The Overlap when asked where he prefers to play but for now, he needs to be shifted to the right for the foreseeable.
Manchester United trio
Marcus Rashford on the right gave Manchester United the chance to line him up in the same forward line as speedster Alejandro Garnacho.
This season it has been a case of ‘either or’, with one replacing another on the left, and rarely together. On Wednesday night both players lined up on each side of Rasmus Hojlund and the trio looked electric.
In doing so, Ten Hag may have struck gold. It was going well in Denmark and pointed a positive way future, before the experiment ended so prematurely.
Starting all three of the electric forwards worked against Copenhagen and it could be too much for Luton to deal with.
What this means, however, for Antony is unclear but there have been some bizarre reports from Brazil linking him with a move away from the club. You wonder if the Brazilian is on borrowed time at Old Trafford despite the denials.
Rashford and Garnacho against Luton
Despite being sent off against FC Copenhagen, Rashford will be available for the crucial clash against Luton before the international break and Ten Hag needs to stick to his guns.
The 26-year-old looked to be more creative from the right-hand side, this is probably because the winger when playing on the left likes to cut in but from the right, this is impossible.
The counter-attacks from United in Denmark were a thing of beauty, too. As well as this, having Rashford on the right and Alejandro Garnacho on the left may well be key to getting the best out of Hojlund, too.
Whether this was intentional or something Ten Hag stumbled upon remains to be seen but the Dutchman simply has to stick to it because, for 35 minutes, this was the best football United fans have seen this season.
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