The massively discouraging goal-scoring drought is now over for Manchester United wing/striker Marcus Rashford. After 13 games and six months, Rashford has finally scored again, netting in the 41′ of United’s 3-0 league win over newly promoted Southampton FC. Manager Erik Ten Hag expressed his belief that this will now open the floodgates for his embattled forward, a player who has endured a ton of criticism, even from his own fans, over the past year or so.
Ten Hag used a very colorful analogy to articulate the high hopes he has for Rashford now.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list,” Ten Hag said in his postgame media conference.
“Once the first is in, more is coming. Once a striker was talking about a ketchup bottle — once it’s going, it’s coming more.”
Rashford lived up to all his ability, and more, during Ten Hag’s first season when achieved 30 scoring strikes. However, last season he only netted eight times, across all competitions, and thus the critics came out in full force.
The only way to quiet them is to consistently bang in the goals, and today was a good start. Up next is a third round EFL Cup clash on Tuesday night, against Barnsley. Rashford may miss that one though, due to the interests of squad rotation.
His next opportunity might come next weekend, when United visit Crystal Palace for their next league fixture.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.