EPL: Ten Hag quotes Cristiano Ronaldo to praise Rashford’s goalscorer

Individual training during the recent international break has paid off for Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford after he ended a six-month goal drought and withstood criticism from his fans on Saturday.

Rashford went 13 games without scoring until he scored in the 41st minute of United’s 3-0 Premier League win over Southampton, the first of which was a 2-0 win over Everton on 9 March.

Although manager Erik ten Hag has been criticised for starting Rashford, he said before Saturday’s game that the 26-year-old only needed a goal or an assist to “fly”.

Ten Hag can only hope that a positive afternoon really opens the floodgates for his striker, who scored just eight last season after netting 30 goals in 2022-23, Ten Hag’s debut season in Manchester.

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“It’s very important,” the manager said after Saturday’s win, which gave United six points from four games. “Every striker wants to score the goals he has on his list. When the first one comes, more will come. The striker once spoke of a bottle of ketchup: when it’s gone, it comes back.”

Rashford was left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad and was not called up during the recent international break. After being criticised for a slow start to the season, he stayed in Manchester during the break to work with RH Elite Coaching and spent a lot of time training.

Rashford broke free from a United short corner in the 41st minute on Saturday and fired diagonally into the far corner.

New signings Matthijs de Ligt and Alejandro Garnacho scored United’s other goals, with goalkeeper Andre Onana saving Cameron Archer’s penalty which proved the turning point.

Diez Khag’s men have no time to rest from their much-needed win as they host Barnsley in the League Cup on Tuesday.