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Thread: Why Marcus Rashford is one of the best LW in the world this season
Marcus Rashford had a rocking start to the season as he was out of position a lot but since then he has been sensational and for me Utd player of the year if he continued playing. In this thread I’ll analyse his game and what his future holds.
In this thread I will talk about:
- Attributes Rashford possesses and needs to improve on
- How he can continue his world class form for many seasons
- Attributes Rashford possesses and needs to improve on
- How he can continue his world class form for many seasons
Attributes Rashford possesses:
Let’s start with one of Rashford’s strengths which is his finishing. He has outperformed his expected goals by 0.4. A small margin but very positive. His xG ranks him 3rd best in the league. Clearly very good at positioning himself to score.
Let’s start with one of Rashford’s strengths which is his finishing. He has outperformed his expected goals by 0.4. A small margin but very positive. His xG ranks him 3rd best in the league. Clearly very good at positioning himself to score.
He isn’t a shot monster like your Salah’s or Kane’s but that’s understandable when he’s had little to no creative outlets when playing this season. Here’s a video to show you his fantastic shooting technique. It’s lethal! Made by @UtdEIIis (suspended currently)
Even though he has scored 5 pens, he has won 4 of them. Everyone who doubts him because of the amount of penalties scored. It’s agendas. There are many great players who have mostly scored penalties. It shouldn’t downplay how good they are. He’s still a good player without them.
What’s really scary about Rashford is how much output he’s had since moving to LW. He has a G/A every 91 minutes in the PL when playing LW. In comparison that’s higher than Mane’s 95 minutes per goal at LW and Auba’s 99 minutes at LW.
One attribute that is underrated of Rashford’s is his play making ability. His goal creating actions per 90 is 0.67. Compare this to Mané’s 0.52 and Pulisic’s 0.42 and you see the difference. He is more involved in plays than given credit for.
One of Rashford’s improvements is his physique. Look at the pictures. This also shows great determination to get to the top. He is almost following the footsteps of Ronaldo.
Rashford’s passing, especially in the final 3rd is quite brilliant as well. He offers different ranges of passing that many winger don’t offer. He averages a success rate of 75%. When Mané’s is 80% it shows he is at a good level.
Mane is in a team who plays with a lot of players in the final 3rd meaning more options. Rashford doesn’t get that when he counters consistently. Here’s a video that shows his passing skill sets. Made by @UTDFuture
Let’s move into Rashford’s dribbling abilities. For me it’s at a good level. He completes 2.7 dribbles P90 but his success rate is 53%. For example, Pulisic‘s is 57% and Mane’s is 64%. Although he isn’t a great dribbler, he’s doing at a very good level still.
Rashford only gets dispossessed 1.63 times P90 which is very very good. Mane gets dispossessed 2.56 P90 and Pulisic’s is 3.61. He is very mature on the ball and doesn’t show his age. Doesn’t force play and loss the ball easily. Proven by the stats as well.
Rashford has very quick feet paired with very good linkup play especially with Martial. This makes him great for counter attacks. This is why he’s so effective and efficient at Utd. His runs are very direct as he makes 12.41 runs P90. One of the best in the league in fact.
Rashford has a few improvements he needs to make to his game such as his headering. He still closes his eyes too much when heading. He could easily add 4-6 more goals if he improves this ability of his. Another one is his defensive contributions.
Although he isn’t a lazy player, he doesn’t track back a great deal. This is me being a little harsh though. It’s not a big problem when he’s so so good going forward. One last improve is his weak foot. He has made massive improvements on his weak foot since last season.
I still think he should improve on it more. With Sancho looking likely to come in, he could be interchanging on the wings. With that in mind. He needs to be less predictable. This makes you such a massive threat than before.
How he can continue his world class form for many seasons:
There’s no doubt ever since Rashford has moved to LW he has played at a world class level. Although not a world class player for me now, he’ll for sure be on if he carries on with these performances.
There’s no doubt ever since Rashford has moved to LW he has played at a world class level. Although not a world class player for me now, he’ll for sure be on if he carries on with these performances.
With the likes of Martial, Pogba, Bruno and the possibility of Sancho joining it looks like Utd are going to make Rashford the focal point of the attack meaning he’ll be the main goalscorer. Martial is a striker who can obviously score a lot but a great creator for Rashford.
With Bruno and Pogba in behind the ball over the top to Rashford will be endless. Especially as he’ll be playing as an inverted winger. As we have established, the players at the club are not a problem for his development but for me the two things that will hold him back are.
The manager and injuries. Injuries could become a huge issue as Rashford has been played way too much at such a young age. Especially this season. He is being overworked. The manager, Ole can only get him so far for me. Especially achievements wise.
If Rashford doesn’t see this man 
