The English striker began to feel difficulties when the season entered a decisive phase.
Marcus Rashford showed bravery by standing up to take responsibility and successfully delivering a penalty for Manchester United in a dramatic penalty shootout win over Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final.
However, while Rashford deserves credit for that, the England international completely succumbed to the Brighton defense for most of his time at Wembley.
And when the goals began to run out, coach Erik ten Hag needed the talisman of the team to find the best form in the context of the season entering an extremely important period, deciding the success or failure of Man Utd.
When Rashford stood on the 11m mark, Man Utd fans feared the worst would happen again. The Man United star previously missed England’s penalty shootout against Italy in the Euro 2020 final. A moment that led to a difficult 12 months later for the striker.
However, that did not repeat when both Rashford and Jadon Sancho finished confidently to help Man United win. It was a moment of relief for the 25-year-old, especially when the Reds had just suffered an embarrassing loss to Sevilla.
However, there is a feeling that Rashford is gradually getting tired after a long season, despite his impressive penalty success. It was a difficult day for the striker. He poses almost no real threat when blocked by the Brighton defense.
Man United started the game with Rashford starting on the left but he often struggled against Pascal Gross. After Rashford moved into the middle as Anthony Martial left the field, the same story played out.
The Man United star’s frustration grew and he himself was somewhat annoyed with his own performance. It should be known that Rashford has only scored 1 goal in the last 8 matches in the domestic league, with the goal coming in a 1-0 win over Brentford earlier this month.
Before that, Rashford was in top form when he scored 7 goals in 8 matches. Rashford has been Man United’s talisman this season. He has thrived since Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford last November.
But apparently Rashford started to feel overwhelmed as the season drew to a close. With Man United in the middle of an intense top-four battle, this is a real blow. In fact, Rashford has to plow too much.
Rashford has played most of the matches this season, and also featured in the England squad at the 2022 World Cup at the end of last year. Surely the Red Devils need their No. 10 back in top form between now and the end of the season.
Man United will go a long way towards qualifying for the Champions League if they beat Tottenham this week. Rashford also needs to regain the feeling of the ball to prevent Manchester City from winning the treble in the FA Cup final on June 3.
And after the season ends, Man Utd will have to add a striker to split the fire with Rashford.
