Rashford Intrigues Ten Hag, United Manager

Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, praised Marcus Rashford for his outstanding solo goal in the team's 2-0 League Cup victory over Burnley and stated that he expected Rashford to maintain his "performance level." At Old Trafford on Wednesday, Christian Eriksen gave United the lead in the 27th minute. Just before the hour mark, Rashford, who had just scored three goals at the World Cup, sprinted from within his own half towards the Clarets' penalty area, where his low shot found the back of the net.

The way Rashford marked his return to the club after England's heartbreaking World Cup quarterfinal elimination was excellent. Ten Hag stated, "I think he invested a lot, once again, with numerous runs in behind the defense line, and then he scored a wonderful goal in a dribble, great finish. I think he's in excellent shape, and of course I hope he can maintain his concentration and level of performance.

As of this point in the season, Rashford has nine goals for United across all competitions, and Ten Hag said of him: "I think he is on a very strong level, his performances are increasing a lot from game to game. He poses a constant threat, but don't forget that he has also contributed significantly on defense in many other games this season and has already scored a number of goals. I'm incredibly pleased with his performances, and I hope and anticipate that he will maintain this outlook and level of output.

In addition, Wednesday's game marked United's first since Cristiano Ronaldo left the team. Ronaldo left Old Trafford as a result of a contentious televised interview in which he claimed to feel "betrayed" by the team and to have no respect for Ten Hag. Ten Hag did not mention Ronaldo in his program notes on Wednesday because he had already discussed the Portuguese forward's leaving and was not in the mood to bring up the topic again after United had comfortably advanced to the League Cup semifinals.

Ten Hag then questioned if it was a good thing in his position that the matter was now ended, nodded, and added: "So it is." Ten Hag then said: "We made a statement and we look to the future."