FA Cup in focus: How Marcus Rashford held his own at Blackburn
Marcus Rashford was handed a rare chance to lead the line in Manchester United’s FA Cup fifth round clash at Blackburn.
He scored the equaliser after Rovers took a surprise lead, but how did his performance measure up overall?
Here, Press Association Sport assesses how he fared at Ewood Park.
GOAL THREAT
After a slow start, not helped by a generally tepid start from United, Rashford pounced instinctively to make it 1-1 in the 27th minute. Hanging on the shoulder of the last man, he was played through brilliantly by Henrikh Mkhitaryan and ghosted past goalkeeper Jason Steele in one fluid movement to leave himself an open net. Clear chances were few and far between after that and he never looked likely to add to his tally.
POSITIONING
Rashford has been given limited opportunities to play as a central striker under Jose Mourinho but he was stationed right at the top of three from the first whistle at Ewood Park. Blackburn’s energy pushed the visitors back and too often there was a yawning chasm between the 19-year-old and the likes of Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard. That worked when Mkhitaryan produced his defence-splitting pass but at times Rashford was drawn deeper or wider to keep himself involved. When Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived from the bench in the 62nd minute, Rashford was quickly shifted to the left wing.
[REPORT: Manchester United pass through tricky Blackburn tie]
[AS IT HAPPENED: Blackburn 1 Manchester United 2]
PHYSICALITY
Rashford was not pushed around by significantly bigger units such as Gordon Greer and Darragh Lenihan but the Rovers defenders left no doubt they would be winning any jostles for territory. In the melee of the penalty area that can be a crucial skill, and one Ibrahimovic excels at. Rashford simply had no chance of imposing himself without space to move into.
CREATIVITY
Moving to the flank gave Rashford room to express himself a little more on the ball but although there were glimpses of his ability to inject life into a game, Jason Lowe held up his end manfully. When the United forward did get away from his marker his timing was just off, and the decisive contributions came from elsewhere – notably the A-list substitutes Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba.
Press Association