Marcus Rashford scored the first goal of the Ruben Amorim era during Manchester United’s draw with Ipswich, but Owen Hargreaves believes he’s already in his new manager’s bad books
Marcus Rashford scored the first goal of the Ruben Amorim era during Manchester United’s draw with Ipswich, but Owen Hargreaves believes he’s already in his new manager’s bad books Marcus Rashford scored the first goal of the Ruben Amorim era during Manchester United’s draw with Ipswich, but Owen Hargreaves believes he’s already in his new manager’s bad books
It hasn’t taken Ruben Amorim long to inherit one of Erik ten Hag’s biggest problems at Manchester United, according to Owen Hargreaves.
The Amorim era got off to an inauspicious start on Sunday, with United only managing a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Ipswich Town at Portman Road. The Red Devils took the lead after little more than a minute, with Marcus Rashford poking home Amad Diallo’s cross from close range, but Ipswich quickly battled back and might have scored two or three had it not been for Andre Onana’s heroics between the sticks.
On the sidelines, Amorim, 39, cut a frustrated figure and seemed, according to ex-United star Hargreaves, particularly irked by Rashford’s off-the-ball work – something Ten Hag had problems with. “He [Amorim] was pretty frustrated, I’m not going to lie. He was right in front of me and he was really, really frustrated with a lot of things,” Hargreaves told Premier League Productions.
“I don’t think Marcus knew at times where he needed to be when the ball was in certain areas and Ruben was quite frustrated with that. Even [Joshua] Zirkzee played as a No. 10 and I don’t think that suited him. I think Marcus prefers to play on the left, and you could see that today.”
Rashford, 27, was a first-team regular under Ten Hag and blasted 30 goals in the Dutchman’s debut season at Old Trafford but found it hard to stay in the manager’s good books. In October, Ten Hag hooked Rashford at half-time during United’s 3-3 draw with Porto in the Europa League despite the fact the forward had notched a goal and an assist before the interval.
After the game, Ten Hag said he was unhappy with Rashford’s defensive contributions. He told reporters: “I have to watch it back and over the left side, definitely we didn’t defend well tonight”.
In October last year, their relationship was strained after Rashford attended a nightclub hours after United’s 3-0 defeat by rivals Manchester City. Rashford found himself in hot water again a few months later when he reported ill for training after allegedly partying in Belfast the night before.
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In response, Ten Hag branded Rashford’s behaviour “unacceptable” and urged him to show a little more “discipline”. The forward was also dropped for a match against Wolves during the 2022/23 season after oversleeping and missing a team meeting before the game.
Time will tell whether Amorim will endure similar difficulties with Rashford, who was deployed as a No. 9 on Sunday, though Hargreaves’ observations don’t exactly paint a promising picture. The former Sporting CP coach arrives in Manchester with a reputation as a meticulous tactician with a penchant for three-at-the-back formations.
True to form, he set United up in a 3-4-3 system against Ipswich, and Hargreaves thinks several players, most of whom have spent the last few years playing in Ten Hag’s 4-2-3-1 system, struggled with their new responsibilities.
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“To me there looked like four or five players playing outside their natural position and that showed at times,” the ex-England international, 43, added. “Looking at that today, I didn’t feel like it suited a lot of the players out there.
“I think initially [Diogo] Dalot’s positioning, I think he was a little bit frustrated with that in the first half. I think the midfield balance he didn’t really like. And when Zirkzee came on I don’t think he was overly happy with his positioning and Hojlund as well. So there’s a lot of stuff that needs a little bit of work.”
Rashford has just two Premier League goals to his name so far this season, and has found the back of the net a mere 13 times in all competitions since the end of the 2022/23 campaign. Up next for United is a Europa League tie with Bodo/Glimt before they welcome Everton to Old Trafford on Sunday (December 1).
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