Manchester United have found a new leader under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Man Utd have rejuvenated their season under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer and that is partly down to the performances of Marcus
A sombre tone accompanied the full-time whistle at Molineux on Saturday night.
Manchester United had
just crashed out of the FA Cup and the cold wind chill in the air had
done little to liven the mood of supporters still bewildered by such a
late kick-off time.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's third
defeat as United caretaker manager was the hardest to take. This was
the first time his tactical risk didn't pay off, and the first time the
side was emphatically subdued and left scratching their heads.
It was a far cry from the form we have come to expect at United on a
night where makeshift captain Paul Pogba and his teammates failed to
live up to their pre-match billing.
Although the stagnant display opened the squad up to criticism it also allowed Marcus Rashford to highlight just why he is so crucial to the current set-up.
His consolation strike at the end was the only real highlight, his
wayward effort in the first-half embodied a frustrated Cristiano
Ronaldo. Despite loud jeers accompanying his awful effort, there was
solace in the frustrations of a player who knows his side are capable of
so much more.
Although it wasn't a night to live long in the memory of away fans, it
was another night in which Rashford took the game by the scruff of its
neck and demonstrated a level of leadership far beyond his years
As frustrations grew he was still the player screaming for the ball,
taking every set-piece and hoping to find a way of clawing his side back
into the game.
Speaking of his own influences growing up, Rashford cited current
teammates Jesse Lingard and Pogba as powerful role models in his life.
"When I saw them start playing and being involved, it kind of made me
refocus and step on again," he told GQ earlier in the week. "That’s what
it is, coming into the first team, now, for me – that’s what I want to
be for the younger ones. For them to see how possible it is." It's safe
to say he's fulfilling that wish.
Not only is Rashford a player for the present but he is also the perfect
role model to bridge the gap between old and new. The 21-year-old is a
player who every youngster dreams of being on the playground and a
hardworking one who fills even the most cynical supporters with pride.
Although much of his generation is criticised for their exuberant
lifestyle and heavy social media output, Rashford breaks the mould with
his mature outlook and a tendency to do his talking on the pitch. It is
immense credit to the 21-year-old that despite earning the right to
gloat about his remarkable rise, he is still so hungry to do achieve so
much more.
Perhaps the biggest credit for Rashford is the fact his whirlwind
adventure has come under the guidance of three different managers, all
three who have shown faith in the youngster and proven that his stardom
if far more than temporary hyper
This faith was repaid nearly a fortnight ago when the England
international unleashed a powerful penalty past Gianluigi Buffon and
broke Paris Saint-Germain hearts, and nearly the net. In that brief
moment it was hard to gauge just what the local lad from Wythenshawe had
achieved. Last summer he netted a penalty for England in their World
Cup shootout triumph vs Colombia, but the courage to do so in Paris was a
whole new level of pressure.
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