Rashford should worry about Sancho treatment after latest Man Utd stinker

Tom Weber

• Updated: 24 Aug 2024 16:19 BST
• 3 min read

Jadon Sancho is once again being frozen out of the Man Utd team - and Marcus Rashford could meet the same fate if he's not careful.

The Manchester United homegrown is coming off a dire season in which he made more headlines for negative than positive reasons. After netting 30 goals in 2022/23, expectations were sky high but Rashford flopped for most of 2023/24.

Now, the new season has begun and, so far, it has been the same old story for Rashord - and Man Utd. The Red Devils limped to a 1-0 victory over Fulham on opening day, with Rashford proving largely ineffectual.

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FootballCritic gave the 26-year-old a rating of 6.4 after Fulham, the second-lowest score received by a United player on the day. Only Mason Mount was worse with a 5.8. Against Brighton, it was a similar story.

Rashford flops again

Man Utd were again unimpressive for most of the match and ultimately lost 2-1 to a last-gasp Joao Pedro winner in stoppage time. In the first half, Rashford had a goal disallowed after a sequence in which he was twice offside, and he was hooked after 65 minutes.

He finished the match with a FootballCritic score of 5.4 - by far the lowest of any Man Utd starter. At this point, it is becoming increasingly clear that the winger needs to either step up his game or push for a change of scenery. The latter was suggested on DAZN by German pundit Tobias Schweinsteiger, brother of former Man Utd star Bastian.

Given the level of his performances not just in this nascent season but over the past 12 months, Rashford should be worried about receiving the same treatment as Jadon Sancho.

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Last week, Erik ten Hag had claimed that his omission for the Fulham match was due to an 'ear infection,' but Sancho was again absent versus Brighton, with the Dutchman stating before the match that "I had a choice to make and we had some issues."

He continued: "He has to compete for his position and from game to game, we will have a look." Rashford, one would think, should be held to the same standard.

Indeed, with Amad Diallo impressing and Alejandro Garnacho almost undroppable when fully fit, it is difficult to see Rashford retaining his place in the Man Utd starting XI for much longer. On merit, he should be out of the side - and perhaps Man Utd would be better off cutting their losses.