Marcus Rashford walked straight into the tunnel at Old Trafford after being subbed off in the 83rd minute for Joshua Zirkzee in the 1-0 Manchester derby loss to Manchester City.
United fans wonder whether Rashford was upset with the team’s performance or his own performance, but either way, it’s not an encouraging sign to start his campaign. He looked comfortable in his loan season at Barcelona, was thriving in the system with goals and assists, and seemed to be much happier overall, hence his desire
to stay in Spain.
Through his first four games back in Red, Rashford has been one of United’s most threatening attackers down the wing, despite not yet recording a goal or assist. Against Hull, when he came on for Dorgu at halftime, he provided a dynamic spark that United needed in the attacking third despite his lack of goal contributions. He earned an 8.0 FotMob rating for the 80 minutes he played in the win at home against Ipswich, then earned a 7.0 FotMob rating in the draw against Everton. Against City, United as a whole lacked creativity once City fell to 10 men, and Rashford’s chemistry with Dorgu at left back seemed to be ineffective.
There are a few positives United fans have picked out through Rashford’s first four games back. First, Rashford can still provide a significant amount to United’s attack, and his flair and speed have gone nowhere. Secondly, his chemistry with Luke Shaw remains strong down the left-hand side, but it can’t be replicated with Patrick Dorgu.
On the other hand, it seems as if Rashford’s reintegration in the lineup has made it tough for Carrick to find his go-to attacking starters. It’s directly resulted in Matheus Cunha starting up top at striker. Carrick has started Cunha up top in all four of United’s Premier League games, and Cunha has been okay, but not as effective as he seemed to be off the left hand side last season.
If Carrick wants to stick to keeping Sesko on the bench for the first half of matches, he could look into selecting Mbeumo up top when Amad returns from injury, or even put Rashford at the No. 9 position and stick Cunha back on the left. Rashford is wearing No. 9 after all, and has proven his ability to score goals and strike a football with power and precision.
But still, the logical decision for Carrick would be to start the only true No. 9 he has on his roster in Benjamin Sesko, and pick Rashford or Cunha on the left. Trying to accommodate both Rashford and Cunha seems to be damaging the squad. And after the season Cunha had last year, Carrick giving him the nod on the left-hand side over Rashford seems reasonable.
