"Power is not always the answer" - Thierry Henry critical of Manchester United star's performance despite 2-0 Tottenham win
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has advised Manchester United star Marcus Rashford to not just depend on power when finishing his chances.
The England international had a couple of gilt-edged opportunities against Tottenham Hotspur but failed to convert them both. But despite Rashford's no-show in front of goal, the Red Devils registered a convincing 2-0 win.
Analyzing the match on Amazon Prime (via The Peoples Person), Henry highlighted Rashford's shortcomings in front of goal while advising him to place the ball rather than try to blast it past the goalkeeper.
"While that ball from Fred was coming to him, you have to look at the goalkeeper to freeze him. Strikers don’t do that often. He never looked."
He added:
"You go low across. Power is not always the answer. You open the goal up. Just finish it. Place it. Why hard? Side foot, goal. See you later.”
The most complete @ManUtd performance of the season? 🔴
Erik ten Hag is proud of his team after beating Spurs!
#PLonPrime #MUNTOT https://t.co/GkEQizpgSZ
Manchester United produced arguably their best performance under new manager Erik ten Hag and outplayed Antonio Conte's Spurs in all departments. But they failed to open the scoring in the first half.
The second 45 minutes followed a similar pattern but this time the Red Devils opened the scoring through Fred in the 47th minute. Bruno Fernandes then doubled their advantage with a 69th-minute strike.
Rashford had a golden opportunity to further increase United's lead a few minutes later but his shot was parried by Hugo Lloris. In all, the England international took three shots, all of which were on target, but none found the back of the net.
Manchester United register third big win of the league season
So far, Manchester United have faced four of the Premier League's 'top six' sides and have won three of those matches. Their only defeat came against Manchester City, while they got the better of Arsenal, Liverpool and now Tottenham Hotspur.
The performance. The team spirit. The atmosphere.
Special, special night ❤️
#MUFC || #MUNTOT https://t.co/pWR7n5rgto
With the win over Spurs, the Red Devils now have 19 points from 10 matches and are fifth in the league table. Tottenham, meanwhile, are still third with 23 points from 11 matches.
United's next league assignment is a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday, October 22.