Newcastle 1 Man Utd 0: Rashford set for England axe like pal Lingard as striker flops again in Toon loss
HIS pal Jesse Lingard has been axed by England.
And much more of this from Marcus Rashford could see him suffer the same fate soon.
When asked about his decision to drop Lingard and Dele Alli, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said: “As an attacking midfielder, you are going to be judged on your goals and assists.”
Well, the same must go for his strikers.
And Rashford has scored just once from open play in his last 21 games for club and country.
Compare his stats this season to his England rivals.
Rashford only has three goals this term – two of which came from the spot.
While Harry Kane has 11 at a Tottenham team in crisis, Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham has nine in just his second season in the top flight, and Callum Wilson has scored five for Bournemouth.
Rashford just does not look comfortable leading the line for Manchester United – and never more so than here at Newcastle.
Yes, he was shorn of service, but he barely had a kick, especially in a dismal first-half display.
And it is becoming increasingly clear Rashford would prefer to cut inside from the left, just as Southgate suggested when he dropped him for the game against Kosovo last month.
Rashford’s body language is all wrong right now and he never looked up for the scrap at St James’ Park.
He touched the ball just nine times in the first-half and 12 in the second. In total that’s four less than Marcos Rojo who came on in the 59th minute.
And with Anthony Martial still out and Mason Greenwood only just making his breakthrough, that is a real problem for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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After his United side failed to register a single shot on target in the goalless draw at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, they had just three against Newcastle – a harmless Andreas Pereira effort from range.
And all in all, it meant yet another miserable afternoon for Manchester United and Solskjaer.
How many more of these can the Norweigian manager survive?