Manchester United ended their six-year wait for a trophy as Erik ten Hag’s side eased past Newcastle in the 2022/23 Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
The Red Devils are still fighting across three other fronts this season, in the running for the FA Cup and Europa League trophies, alongside a potential Premier League title tilt.
If United are to get their hands on more silverware before the end of the campaign, England star Marcus Rashford looks set to play a crucial role, as the homegrown hero continued his incredible start to 2023 with the winner against Newcastle.
Rashford’s form has powered Ten Hag’s United in recent weeks with fans delighted to see their idol begin to realise his world-class potential at Old Trafford.
Rashford goals, stats in 2022/23
Despite only playing a reduced role for England at the 2022 World Cup, Rashford has maintained his United form in outrageous style, following the Premier League’s resumption.
The 25-year-old has netted 14 goals in 17 games across all competitions in 2023, the highest tally of any player in Europe’s top five leagues, with an overall season figure of 25 at the end of February.
Rashford has spoken about how his hard work in preseason, and a positive response to confidence issues, has played a key role in him finding form this season, but the arrival of Ten Hag has also triggered a culture change at United, with Rashford set to spearhead his plans.
Games: 39
Goals: 25
Assists: 9
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Rashford’s impressive goal streak in 2022/23 has seen him rise up the United all-time Premier League goal scorers list with their current No.10 now 8th on the list, after overtaking David Beckham and Eric Cantona in 2023.
With 73 Premier League goals to his name, Rashford’s former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is next in his sights (91) with only four players scoring 100+ Premier League goals for the Red Devils.
Marcus Rashford’s Man United career in numbers
Rashford has already outstripped his previous best-season highs as a United player – a measure of a brilliant first half to his campaign – and he is already in front of top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo (24) from 2021/22.
Being ahead of Ronaldo at this stage is almost emblematic of how United have remodelled themselves since the Portuguese superstar’s exit at the back end of 2022, with goals more evenly shared across the team, and Rashford at the forefront.
No United player has scored 30 goals across all competitions since Robin van Persie did it en route to winning the 2012/13 Premier League title, with 26 in league action.
Rashford has 14 Premier League goals, with 14 games left to play, and he will be confident of challenging Van Persie’s double record.
Premier League Golden Boot race 2022/23
With 14 goals in Premier League action so far, Rashford looks certain to break his own league season record of 17 in the coming weeks, but his chances of overhauling Erling Haaland as the 2022/23 hotshot look slim.
Rashford is currently joint third, alongside Brentford star Ivan Toney, with England captain Harry Kane in second, on 18.
However, Haaland’s 27 Premier League goals puts him on another level, with the Norwegian potentially able to break Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer’s joint record of 34 goals, from 1993/94 and 1994/95.
Source: www.sportingnews.com
