Catch a falling star? Marcus Rashford was the man Dominic Cummings warned Boris Johnson to take on at his peril, a shining light in difficult times, an exemplar of the working-class hero.
Having transcended football, time and events have been unkind. Particularly in football terms. Rashford became the usually unwitting symbol of the collapse of an empire. Fans didn’t used to turn on their own but at Manchester United he became a lightning rod, eventually made a scapegoat by an incoming manager looking to crack heads. Rashford, a player of grace in full flight, was never one to exude blood, sweat and tears. By the end, the body language, the off-field distractions and accompanying suspicions had destroyed the fraternity once shared with United fans.
The accusation was of no longer caring, one he flatly denied while also requesting new horizons. If the hometown hero dream is over, he remains an asset to United; a run of good performances at Aston Villa can make him a cashable asset, pure profit on the profitability and sustainability ledger. In his second home start, Villa continued their rental of a potentially high-class forward, a foil for Ollie Watkins, fresher legs within a squad that has already fulfilled an arduous schedule.
How high class? For Liverpool, buzzing with ever-present danger down the same flank was Mohamed Salah, the best in the business when it comes to the very 21st-century position of free‑scoring wing‑forward. The absolute gold standard in English football terms, and beyond, say Vinícius Júnior and fellow Real Madrid flyers, in world football, too.
Coincidentally, the pair have played 290 Premier League appearances each. Salah made it 182 goals with his first-half strike. Rashford stayed at 87. Even in Rashford’s best season for United, 2022-23, when he scored 17 Premier League goals of 30 overall, Salah scored 19 league goals of his own 30. The Egyptian’s assists count is more than double that of Rashford, too, also added to at Villa Park. That Salah has been playing for title-chasing teams while Rashford often carried United’s burden alone might be factored in but the comparison stands, and was exacerbated.
If Liverpool are feeling wobbly, Salah rolls on. By the time of his goal, he had already missed a decent headed chance. No problem. When opportunity knocked next, to perform that flourish of self-recognition that has become his trademark celebration, there was no doubt he would profit from Andrés García’s loss of composure. Home heads dropped as the ball reached him.
As for Rashford, he was sticking firmly to his left flank, asked to test Trent Alexander-Arnold’s purportedly weak defensive instincts. Arne Slot, pre-match full of praise for the Rashford he recognised from watching the Premier League from afar, had clearly told Ibrahima Konaté to double up whenever Rashford took flight. Any arrowing runs towards goal were cut off. In turn, Unai Emery had asked Rashford to press Alexander-Arnold, a discipline for which he is not best known, nor at which he is particularly proficient. He was jogging slowly back as his former England colleague was thrashing home Liverpool’s second goal.
There were flashes of the Rashford of old, bad and good. Early on, Villa had the ball in the net when his cutback resulted in an own goal, quickly ruled out for an earlier offside; United fans may recognise a propensity to drift beyond the line. It was following a dangerous Rashford free-kick that Youri Tielemans eventually forced the ball home for Villa’s equaliser. The second half began with his pace being used as out‑ball. Running beyond Alexander‑Arnold, it took Alisson’s charge out on safari to reduce the danger. The sprinter’s speed has not yet fully deserted him; there was audible excitement from fans whenever Villa’s loan star got chance to run with the ball.
after newsletter promotion
The goals will have to wait. Any forward requires confidence, as Diogo Jota showed in an unusually wasteful display and Darwin Núñez echoed further in committing one of those misses that only Liverpool’s crazy horse can pull off. If Salah’s presence of mind is unshakeable, Rashford’s confidence has often oscillated, but in the movement of Watkins, Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, he is among kindred spirits, an attack-minded unit not weighed down by collective malaise, young, thrusting, so much to look forward to. Rogers is in the form Rashford might recall from 2016 and 2023, when almost everything comes off, though his late miss had Emery in agonies. The Basque knew the golden chance his adventurous approach sought had been and gone.
Rashford departed after 67 minutes, his performance full of flashes but also often a bystander to the real contest taking place elsewhere on Villa Park’s surface. At least he can be spoken of as a footballer again. Having helped muddy Liverpool’s path towards a record-equalling 20th title, he had something to offer United, too.
Article by:Source: John Brewin at Villa Park
