Marcus Rashford delivered 20 goals after first Ten Hag telling off – second will make or break him

After a dressing down last season led to the best form of Marcus Rashford’s career, Erik ten Hag will be hoping anger at an ill-timed birthday party last week will provoke a similar reaction. The timing of Rashford’s “unacceptable” evening at Chinawhite nightclub has coincided with arguably Ten Hag’s biggest match of his fraught campaign.

Rashford was training on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League trip to face FC Copenhagen in Denmark, having missed the win over Fulham at the weekend, which came the day after Ten Hag made his feelings clear over whether his player should have been celebrating in a nightclub hours after losing in the Manchester derby.

Victory at Craven Cottage eased the pressure on Ten Hag but the magnitude of the clash at Parken Stadium should not be underestimated, with defeat putting United at threat of finishing bottom of Group A without the safety net of a Europa League place later in the season. Victory could see them move into second place ahead of daunting clashes in Istanbul against Galatasaray and hosting Harry Kane’s rampant Bayern Munich.

Rashford’s return could be timed well after he missed the weekend win with an unspecified “heavy knock” having travelled to London for the fixture. Ten Hag will be hoping there is more fire in his forward’s belly, like last season when he went on a goal-scoring run after sleeping in, missing a team meeting and getting dropped to the bench for the trip to Wolves.

It was a brave move from Ten Hag, with his player returning from the World Cup in good form and United chasing a return to the top four. Rashford appeared to have been stirred into his amazing run of goals. He had also been in good form in Qatar but on the bench for England’s knockout games.

What followed is the type of form United supporters now want to see from Rashford again. During January and February he scored in all but one of the Premier League matches he played in, with a scoring run that was comparable to Erling Haaland’s during the same period. Rashford ended up with 19 goals in the second half of the season after getting dropped on New Year’s Eve.

His form earned him a new long-term contract at United, until 2028, which was signed in the summer and worth more than £300,000 per week. Rashford has called out his detractors this week, publicly replying to the popular United Stand broadcasters, saying there was a “malicious” campaign to put doubts over his future at United.

This season he has scored once from 14 appearances for United, with his confidence clearly not as high as last season. He missed a clear opportunity in the defeat by Galatasaray when he opted to pass to Bruno Fernandes rather than shoot from a position where he had so much success last season.

He looked back on form for England in the win over Italy that secured a place at the European Championships, with Gareth Southgate publicly backing him after the Champions League miss. That Italy game offering an example of how Rashford’s form in front of goal can quickly change.