Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has received backlash from supporters over a clip of his half-hearted attempts to close down in the final minutes of Sunday’s win over Luton Town. The Red Devils were clinging on by the end at Kenilworth Road as the hosts pushed for a dramatic equaliser.
Two early goals from in-form Rasmus Hojlund put United in charge, before Carlton Morris pulled one back to make it 2-1 within the first quarter of an hour. The contest remained finely poised until Luton threw caution to the wind late in the game.
The Hatters racked up 22 shots and enjoyed the majority of possession on their own turf, and Ross Barkley came within a whisker of levelling up the scores by heading onto the top of the crossbar in second-half stoppage time.
That made Rashford’s apparent lack of urgency even more striking, as a viral social media clip shows the 26-year-old jogging slowly and putting in little effort to stop Luton dangerman Barkley, who skipped past him with ease in the 90th minute.
Manager Erik ten Hag is unlikely to be pleased with Rashford’s effort, or lack thereof, when Luton were threatening to deny United two valuable Premier League points.
Rashford hit 30 goals last season but he has only managed five this time around, and he has now gone three consecutive games without finding the net. Amad Diallo and Antony are both waiting in the wings for minutes out wide in case Ten Hag feels the time is right to make a change.
“I’m grateful for the win, but [we were] a little bit lucky. I had a chance myself that I needed to put in the back of the net. Of course we need to score those. But I am sure next week we will bounce back and show Old Trafford what we are made of.
“I think I need to say thanks to my team-mates and the coach because they have shown me great confidence and kept believing in me. I knew as well that I could score goals but of course it was annoying I didn’t score in the Premier League.”
