The new role of Marcus Rashford this season was certainly one of the more intriguing issues heading into this 2016-17 Manchester United campaign. Zlatan Ibrahimovic would obviously take a starting role now, with Jose Mourinho likely selecting Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial over Rashford in attack.
Today, Rashford reminded everybody not to forget about him on the bench.
Rashford had an epic celebration following his injury time goal that gave Manchester United a 1-0 win over Hull City and extended their perfect start to the Premier League season. Scoreless at the end of regulation, Rashford converted the game winner at the last minute.
Rashford became a top ten trending topic on Twitter worldwide, as he sent United into the next game, the Manchester derby, undefeated.
Mourinho praised the diversity that Rashford adds to his attack after the game.
“When we brought the kid to the game, it gave us a diversity of football. We started playing a different way. Of course we had a bit of luck at the end.
“He’s very good. I knew that last season. Working with him every day, I think the same.
“Tonight he came on and gave us diversity in our football. He is different to [Wayne] Rooney and different to Zlatan [Ibrahimovic].”
When asked about future playing opportunities for Rashford, Mourinho offered this response.
“He can play, but he can be on the bench. I don’t know. I have to analyze.”
“The important thing is that he is working very well. He is 18 years old, our number one player [Ibrahimovic] is also an amazing player. The kid is going to play a lot of matches for sure.”
“It’s not the match-winner that makes me change my mind. It is the same as when a player makes a mistake and you lose because of it.”
When asked about the idea of Ibrahimovic and Rashford playing together, the Portugese said that he feels that lineup could create a weakness for the Red Devils, saying: “To play that way, we have to be very dominant.”
Mourinho is known for being a defensive manager, not an attacking specialist.
On a side note, Mourinho made some comments at his weekly press conference that effectively declared the summer transfer window essentially closed. Read more on that here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.