Manchester United lost 7-6 on penalties to strong cross-town rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday, after the game finished 1-1 following ordinary time.
The Red Devils had the opportunity to begin the season with silverware, but they squandered several promising opportunities.
Marcus Rashford was responsible for missing two chances, one in each half, and he needs to improve significantly this season after his performance last time out.
Erik ten Hag elected to stick with the Mancunian, but while he worked hard and ran around a lot at Wembley, the end result was awful.
Rashford missed two sitters.The Englishman completed only 14 passes in 83 minutes and failed to finish a single dribble (data from sofascore).
He won just one duel and lost possession five times. It was encouraging to see the England international return, unlike last season, and he blocked one shot and made one interception.
However, it was up front that the manager and fans expected more from the 26-year-old. He should be reaching his prime at this point in his career, but instead we witness the uneven side of his game.
Rashford completed a few stunning long diagonals against Pep Guardiola’s team before fluffing his lines on a simple chance that should have been converted.
He must work hard with Ruud van Nistelrooy to improve his finishing. A top forward does not turn down so many good opportunities when his team needs him the most.
Needs to improve significantly.
With Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho expected to play down the right, only Rashford and Jadon Sancho will play on the left.
With Sancho’s future uncertain, it would have been great if INEOS had brought in some significant competition for Rashford, forcing him to pull his act together.
After losing out on an England spot at the Euros and suffering in red, Rashford has a lot of work to do to win over the United fans this season. He had the opportunity to start doing so on Saturday, but he did not take it.
Fulham awaits the Premier League opener. Hopefully, Ten Hag can get his wide man to start firing, especially since Rasmus Hojlund is unavailable and Joshua Zirkzee is yet to make his debut.