Man Utd’s record with and without Marcus Rashford

Robin Bairner

• 19 Apr 2023 05:49 CDT
• 4 min read

Marcus Rashford gave Manchester United a huge injury boost ahead of their Europa League second-leg trip to Sevilla on Thursday by returning to training.

The England international forward has been one of the undoubted stars of the season as a rejuvenated Man Utd have won one trophy and are challenging for two more following the arrival of manager Erik ten Hag from Ajax last summer.

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Rashford has caught fire in the second half of the season but had missed a couple of fixtures after going off in the recent 2-0 win over Everton with a groin problem.

His return may have come sooner than expected judging by the scenes at Old Trafford on 8 April, but it is nonetheless welcome for the Red Devils, with the forward utterly central to their plans.

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How important is Rashford for Man Utd

Rashford has been involved in 47 Manchester United fixtures this season, with the Red Devils winning 34 of these, equating to a win percentage of around 72%.

He has missed four matches, including the first leg of the Sevilla tie, with Man Utd winning only a couple of these games.

Similarly, they are typically scoring more goals when he is fit. With Rashford in their ranks, United are netting at a rate of more than 2.5 goals per game in all competitions but without him that drops to 1.5.

On the other hand, United are actually conceding more when he is on the field, though that is clearly not having an impact on their results.

Based on the small sample size in terms of games he has missed, it is valid to ask: is this a short-term trend?

It’s difficult to know, but what is clear is that Rashford’s numbers in this regard were far less impressive last season. Indeed, United actually fared better when he wasn’t involved in games – and by quite some distance.

Of course, he was playing in a far weaker side at that point under two different managers in the form of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick, while it was also widely acknowledged that he was far from his best over that campaign.

What is obvious, though, is that Ten Hag has unlocked Rashford’s potential at Man Utd once again.