Man United have struggled to score goals this season and the senior attackers need to step up and deliver in the final weeks.
Manchester United supporters feared how the team would perform when losing Marcus Rashford to a groin injury last month.
The club confirmed he would be unavailable ‘for a few games’ and that statement was deliberately ambiguous, but as it happened, Rashford was only absent from the match against Sevilla at Old Trafford and against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Although Rashford is the leading goalscorer at the club by some stretch this season, his goals were not missed in those matches, as Marcel Sabitzer produced a brace versus Sevilla and United were superior in every area when visiting Forest.
Rashford returned to the squad for the away leg against Sevilla in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and he was brought on at half-time in that game, but was helpless to prevent United from crashing out of the Europa League.
The forward has started five consecutive matches since and he’s found the net once against Tottenham. He’s scored just twice since the beginning of April and his goals have started to dry up, a possibility which has been a concern all season.
Rashford has an impressive 29 goals and it’s been the best campaign of his career. His turnaround has been remarkable, a joy to follow and he’s been responsible for around 35 per cent of the team’s goals across all competitions.
United, however, have over-reliant on Rashford producing in front of goal and Erik ten Hag hoped he could continue scoring at that prolific rate until the last day of the season, but that was not realistic and a lull was to be expected at some stage.
Away from Rashford, there is an obvious lack of firepower and results have suffered with his goals starting to dry up. There were back-to-back defeats against Brighton and West Ham last week and the pressure has increased in the race for top four.
If there was a preferable time for Rashford to be subject to a brief lull in front of goal, now would certainly not be it. Liverpool have gained momentum in fifth position and United are now being forced to fight to qualify for the Champions League.
Rashford obviously cannot be blamed. He’s been exceptional this season and his attacking colleagues simply haven’t delivered, which needs to change in the last few weeks, otherwise, a tremendous campaign could end in disaster.
United have scored the same amount of Premier League goals as Leicester (49) this season and the Foxes could end the season in the bottom three. They currently sit in the relegation zone and that highlights the extent of the problem the Reds have with scoring.
Antony, Wout Weghorst, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial have 23 goals between them in all competitions and those individuals need to take more responsibility in the five remaining games. That record looks even worse when narrowed to just league goals, as it reduces to 15 between the four.
That’s a problem and it’s clear the attackers have not held up their share of the bargain, with the exception of Rashford.
Away from that group of underperforming senior attackers, Anthony Elanga, who has just celebrated his 21st birthday, has not scored since February 2022 against Atletico Madrid and he appears to be a level below what is required in the first-team.
The blossoming Alejandro Garncho has been excellent, despite being just 18 years old, and he’s contributed four goals and five assists in just his first full season with the first-team, which suggests he’s got the talent to earn a starting role in the future.
Garnacho’s return from injury is a much-needed boost and he might be able to provide the spark that has been missing in attack. United have been over-reliant on Rashford this season and that has the potential to bite them in the final weeks.
Source: manchestereveningnews
