This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
As the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Raheem Sterling, amongst others, develop into some of the most prolific forwards in world football, the emphasis on wingers becoming goal-scoring machines has grown exponentially.
This season for example, the trio have already struck 11, 9 and 14 times respectively, and have become key figures for their respective sides when it comes to finding the back of the net. But whilst they have an incredible goal-scoring record, they have not abandoned the need to keep their teammates involved, with each of0 key passes and crosses: Man Utd star desperately needs to be less selfish – opinion them providing five assists.
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford appears to have found his home on the left-wing in recent weeks, particularly after the return from injury of Anthony Martial. The England international has three goals in his past four Premier League games, but there are still some major areas for improvement – most notably, the way he can get the best out of his fellow attackers for both club and country.
As per Transfermarkt, in the 75 games he has played in his club career on either the left or right flanks, he has provided just 14 assists – a ratio of just over one in six. His pace and directness – he has a career average of 1.4 dribbles per game – invariably means he can beat opposition players one on one, but lets himself down by opting more often than not to go for goal than pass.
Whilst his shots per game are up at two per game throughout his time in football, his key passes and crosses are down at a measly 0.8 and 0.3. And on Thursday night against Montenegro, Rashford had the perfect opportunity to show that he has more to his game than simply scoring goals from the wing. Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he failed to show those characteristics.
As per Sofascore, his 6.5 match rating was the worst of any England player – that despite him scoring. He completed just three of his eight attempted dribbles, but even more worryingly, only tried one cross (which wasn’t successful), and provided no key passes whatsoever. Compare that to Ben Chilwell who was playing directly behind him at left-back, who managed five key passes and three accurate crosses.
If you needed a snapshot of the kind of selfishness that Rashford needs to tone down slightly, then look no further than his barn-storming run in the first-half, only for him to fire for goal instead of looking for the better option in the free man in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to his right.
So whilst the United academy product has been in fine goal-scoring form, he desperately needs to add a more team-oriented game to his style of play.
