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Manchester United hit Barnsley for seven in their Carabao Cup third round clash at Old Trafford on Tuesday to seal their place in Round Four of the competition.
Three players — Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Christian Eriksen all netted braces while Antony scored from a spot-kick in the first half to round off the scoring.
Erik ten Hag will be happy with the result after a difficult start to the campaign but he will be most pleased by the fact that all his wingers have scored this season which will help ease the pressure off new recruit Joshua Zirkzee.
One player who has been heavily criticised for over a year now is Rashford, who felt the hate and criticism was almost akin to bullying and he needed to answer his critics.
Rashford carrying on from Southampton
He started with a goal against Southampton in the league at the weekend and carried on in the same vein against the team from League One.
The Mancunian even whipped out his trademark celebration, which delighted the Old Trafford faithful and he played with a smile on his face, which will please the manager.
Marcus Rashford’s game by numbers vs. Barnsley:
9 touches in the opposition’s box
6 shots
5 attempted take-ons
3 successful take-ons
3 passes into the final third
3 shots on target
2 ball recoveries
2 goals
1 assistBorn to play in red and white 🎶 pic.twitter.com/8NQb6GMIol
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 17, 2024
The Englishman also grabbed the assist for Garnacho’s first and it was his pass that lead to Antony winning the penalty.
The 26-year-old had three shots on target while three more were blocked while he contributed one key pass and created one big chance (stats via sofascore).
EtH will be delighted
The England international successfully completed three dribbles, and had nine touches in the opposition penalty area and three passes into the final third.
Playing as the lone centre-forward is not something the academy graduate enjoys but he worked hard on the night and apart from the goals, he also won half of his ground duels and also made one clearance.
While many critics will point to the fact that this was just Barnsley, Rashford played with confidence and performed against what he was up against and that is all the manager could have asked for.
Ten Hag will hope he can carry forward this momentum in the matches to come with huge contests in the league and Europe coming up.
Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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