On this day five years ago, Marcus Rashford made his senior debut for Manchester United. Drafted in as a surprise replacement for the injured Anthony Martial, the academy graduate scored a brace as Louis van Gaal’s side progressed past Midtjylland in the Europa League.
Now aged 23, Rashford has never looked back since. The forward has played under three different managers at Old Trafford and has established himself as a trailblazer for club and country both on and off the pitch. Here, we revisit some of the most memorable moments from Rashford’s five years in club football so far.
Marcus Rashford and His Five Years of Excellence
The Dream Debuts
That night against Midtjylland is the only place to start. Under the management of Dutchman Van Gaal, United had actually lost the first leg of their Europa League last-32 tie to the Danish champions in February 2016. Having been booed off the pitch following a stuttering performance, the situation worsened when star striker Anthony Martial succumbed to injury in the warm-up ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford.
Consequently, Rashford was thrown into the starting 11 as something of an unknown quantity to the home crowd. Instead of buckling under the pressure, the teenager rose to the occasion and netted twice to help his team overturn their first-leg deficit with a 5-1 win that relieved some of the pressure that had been building on the manager.
Van Gaal kept his faith in Rashford from that evening onwards and started the youngster in a crucial Premier League game against Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal just days later. Those who had not heard of Rashford after his Europa League exploits certainly had by the time the final whistle blew that afternoon at Old Trafford – the forward scored another brace in a 3-2 victory that ensured a winning Premier League debut in a whirlwind start to his senior career.
Settling The Manchester Derby
Rashford’s breakthrough season with Manchester United would end on a high as the club won the FA Cup, beating Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace at Wembley. Before that, however, the former Fletcher Moss Rangers schoolboy enhanced his burgeoning reputation by firing in the winner in his first Manchester Derby.
United travelled to the Etihad Stadium that day in March 2016 knowing that their rivals had usurped them as the city’s dominant force, but nothing fazed the Red Devils’ latest local talent on a day where he showcased a calmness beyond his years to give the bragging rights to the red half of Manchester.
Rashford’s moment arrived in the 16th minute when Juan Mata played him the ball for a one-against-one with Martin Demichelis. The then-18-year-old skipped past his experienced adversary before sliding a finish underneath the advancing Joe Hart. Doing so made him the youngest scorer in the history of this derby in the Premier League.
The goal was Rashford’s fifth in his opening eight games for the first team, and the man himself recently revealed that he still rates it as his personal favourite of the 85 he has notched to date.
A Penalty in Paris
Other notable strikes followed for Rashford over the course of the José Mourinho era at Old Trafford. There was a run to Europa League glory in 2017 – the most-recent trophy won by the club – in which the forward scored an extra-time winner against Anderlecht in the quarter-final as well as a sublime free-kick to help his team through their semi-final clash with Celta Vigo. There was also a scintillating double in a Premier League clash that saw Mourinho’s United get the better of Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Old Trafford in 2018.
Nevertheless, the most-critical of Rashford’s strikes for his club perhaps came under the management of his current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Then in interim charge at the club, Solskjaer brought his side to face Thomas Tuchel’s Paris Saint-Germain in a game that many saw as an impossible task to progress in the Champions League last-16.
PSG had won the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford, meaning Solskjaer’s men had to do what no team had ever accomplished in Champions League history and overturn a two-goal deficit away from home.
Much of United’s comeback on that famous night in March 2019 was owed to Romelu Lukaku‘s first-half double – the second goal coming after veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had spilt a long-range effort from Rashford into the Belgian’s path. Rashford himself would complete an astonishing turnaround in second-half injury time, thumping a nerveless penalty past Buffon after a handball by Presnel Kimpembe.
It was the first time Rashford had ever taken a penalty in a competitive fixture for Manchester United, and the strike will live forever in the club’s folklore.
Marcus Rashford: More to Come
Throughout his young career in senior football, it has become clear that Marcus Rashford has a knack for the spectacular – his outrageous Carabao Cup free-kick against Chelsea in October 2019 acts as a testament to that.
Still only 23, the forward now stands on the cusp of realising his world-class potential with Manchester United and has been honing in on his finishing under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Last season, his 22 goals in 44 games showcased his improvement in front of goal.
With 18 goals to his name so far this season, Rashford has continued to kick on in the current campaign and is striking fear into the hearts of opposition defenders with his performances alongside the talismanic Bruno Fernandes.
Here’s to another five years of excellence from one of English football’s very finest.
Main Photo
