It is no mean feat to start of a season in an U 21 team, then get called upon all of a sudden in the senior team due to injuries to the more reputed names, and then just come on out of nowhere and start scoring for fun, but Marcus Rashford has done exactly that. The teenage sensation has made 11 appearances in the league and scored 5 times, including that sensational brace that sinked Arsenal’s title challenge. In the Europa league, the academy graduate has scored thrice, most memorably in that 5-1 rout of FC Midtjylland. In the FA Cup, he scored one of the goals of the season in that quarter final replay at West Ham, and with United set to play the final of the competition on Saturday against Crystal Palace at Wembley, he should most definitely start, although he had been benched in the last 2 matches as he was nursing a niggle in his leg.
Why?
Because he is born to play in that striker position. Operating upfront on his own gives him freedom to drag defenders with his pace or dribble past them with his skills, thus giving the likes of Rooney and Mata space and time on the ball. Moreover, with a shooting accuracy of over 80%, the Manchester breed center forward is a serious threat to any defense. His mobility and willingness to shift positions also means he and Martial can swap positions as and when required, which would cause havoc in an already shaky and underperforming Palace defense.
What can we expect to see if he starts?
A 4-2-3-1 formation from van Gaal, with the newly called up England man upfront and the triumvarate of Martial, Rooney and Mata behind him. If the team plays to it’s strength and passes quickly and positively, we can expect Rashford and co. to get behind defenders and create a lot of chances. Given how direly we need to win the FA Cup, one hopes that’s how we go about.
