"He looks very flat" – Alan Shearer names Manchester United man who lacked 'spark' in narrow win over Aston Villa
Alan Shearer claims Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is currently lacking confidence, which was evident from his performance against Aston Villa.
The former Premier League forward stated that the England international has lost his spark. Speaking on BBC Sport (via the Mirror), Alan Shearer said:
"When you look at the body language of some of those players. I don’t want to single out Marcus Rashford because he’s low on confidence. But I just think everything looks a huge effort for him at this moment in time there’s no spark there, he looks very flat."
Alan Shearer said Rashford looked great during the opening stages of the match but his impact soon deteriorated as the game went on. The 51-year-old player-turned-pundit was not happy with Rashford's lack of movement to help his teammates.
Despite a lackluster performance, Manchester United safely progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup. Shearer added:
"He started off the first five or 10 minutes and I thought here we go he’s back to his best by giving Man United a little bit of width and had a little bit of spark about him. But there was once in the first half and again in the second half when Greenwood cuts in from the right-hand side and he just stands still.
"Man United all I can say is they’re through. It wasn’t a good performance, poor again, second best for large parts of that second half."
Manchester United battled hard to secure a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup. An early headed goal from Scott McTominay was enough for the Red Devils to advance in the competition.
Ralf Rangnick's side will now face Championship side Middlesbrough in the fourth round.
Is Shearer right about Rashford? https://t.co/YYsLerjrvT
Marcus Rashford has made an underwhelming start to the 2021-22 season for Manchester United
Marcus Rashford hasn't had the best of the starts to the 2021-22 season.
The England international got off to a late start as he was recovering from a shoulder injury he picked up over the summer. This saw him make his first appearance for the Red Devils in October.
As things stand, Marcus Rashford has only scored three times this season in 15 appearances across all competitions. The 24-year-old forward has not scored for Manchester United since their 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick admits he is unsure why Marcus Rashford is struggling for form after another disappointing night for the forward.