Rashford led United to a dominant 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, but Alan Shearer and Michael Owen say they must buy a 'number nine' to complement the 25-year-old's quality. Against Forest, Rashford scored United's first goal after sweeping in a well-worked corner routine initiated by Christian Eriksen and then teed up Anthony Martial to fire in the second midway through the first half. With Martial operating as the main striker, the England international played a little deeper on the left, which enabled him to cause problems for the Forest defence with his movement.
Manchester United v. Nottingham Forest
"I think Marcus enjoys it more, he looks better certainly, in the position we saw tonight," Shearer said on Amazon Prime. "He's been given a little bit of freedom - if he wants to go down the middle at times, he can. "But when he's got all that space to run into from out wide, he's a better player in doing that and he's very, very good at doing that. "In terms of him being a centre-forward, he lacks that killer instinct, that natural ability to think 'yeah, I'm going to get in there, I'm going to get the two or three yarders'. "But there's no doubting his ability, he's a fantastic player."
Rashford suffered a dip in form under United interim boss Ralf Rangnick last season, scoring just twice in 23 appearances and rarely playing a full 90 minutes. This season, looking reinvigorated under Ten Hag and playing with a smile again, he has netted 10 times in 21 games for his club.
"I don't know if it is as good as I've ever been playing but I'm definitely enjoying it," Rashford told Amazon Prime. "We're winning a lot more football games and our level has been a lot higher. I'm happy with how were developing and hope we can keep kicking on. "It's a completely different mindset to last season, a different team playing different football. "For me, when you're not in the team and coming on, there is a different mindset and you have to think about making an impact and you're not sure when you get another chance or another goal. "But I'm enjoying what I'm doing at the minute."
