Ten Hag hails 'dangerous' Marcus Rashford after big Elland Road victory

Man Utd kept in the title hunt with a 2-0 win against rivals Leeds.

Mon, 13 Feb, 2023 - 07:05

Richard Tanner

Leeds 0

Manchester United 2

Erik Ten Hag described Marcus Rashford as "one of the most dangerous strikers in Europe" and tipped him to keep scoring - as long as he maintains his focus.

Rashford continued his hot streak by breaking the deadlock of a tense and fiesty game at Elland Road with a superb late header before Alejandro Garnacho made sure of a victory that not only boosted Manchester United's top four hopes but kept them in with a title chance.

It was Rashford's 21st goal of the season for United and his 13th in 15 appearances since returning from the World Cup but Ten Hag insists he is capable of many more and challenged him to keep working on his game.

"I said back in August that in 'Rashy' we had a player in our squad who could score 20 goals and that's been confirmed," said the United manager. "If he is satisfied with it then the scoring will stop because satisfaction leads to laziness. He has to keep investing every day, keep the focus, bring in the energy and the belief and he will keep scoring will keep scoring.

"He is one of the most dangerous strikers in Europe because he can score with his right foot, left foot and his head. We just have to make sure we give him the right service. I was really excited to work with him and from the first moment I saw him I thought I could get more out of him because he has so many skills and his potential is so high.

"We have to push him as manager and the coaching staff but ultimately it has to come from the player and if loses focus then the scoring will stop. That's clear. I don't know where it [the scoring run] will stop but he has to go from game to game and make sure that during the week he does the right things."

Ten Hag wasn't happy about the overall quality of United's performance but was pleased with their spirit and defensive resilience - plus the clinical way Rashford and Garnacho took their late goals.

"It was about winning the battle and showing our class in the end," he added. "We have to play more football and be calmer earlier in the game. We made many unnecessary mistakes on the ball. But if you are not that good in possession then you have to have a good defensive organisation and win the battles until you get the first goal. From the moment we scored there was more composure and our quality on the ball was better."

Rashford had a relatively quiet game by his standards but produced a moment of real class and quality in the 80th minute to steer Luke Shaw's fine cross into the net just as a fiercely-competitive game appeared to be heading to a goal-less stalemate.

Five minutes later Garnacho outpaced the Leeds defence to latch on to Wout Weghorst's pass and fire a shot past Illan Meslier to seal a win that briefly leapfrogged United over neighbours Manchester City into second place - until City completed victory over Aston Villa (check).

It also left them only six points adrift of leaders Arsenal, although they have played two more games than Mikel Arteta's side, and put them in good heart for Thursday's Europea League play-off first leg with La Liga leaders Barcelona.

With that in mind, Ten Hag rested Raphael Varane and Leandro Martinez and recalled Harry Maguire to play alongside Luke Shaw in the middle of the defence.

For the second time in five days, manager-less Leeds went toe-to-toe with United and could consider themselves unlucky to lose, following their 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last Wednesday.

The defeat leaves them without a League win since November 5 and has increased the urgency to appoint a new boss after sacking Jesse Marsch.

But their performance in both games against United will give them hope they can beat the drop.

Caretaker boss Michael Skubala said: "I'm really proud but we're deflated we didn't get anything out of the game. We were on top for long periods and created some good chances. But top players like Rashford change games and his goal changed the game."

David De Gea celebrated his 400th League appearance for the visitors with a string of fine saves to deny Crysenico Summerville - who should have given Leeds an early lead only to lift his shot over the bar.

Bruno Fernandes squandered three chances in a scrappy first half with Meslier produced a fine stop from the third one just before half-time.

Leeds started the second half as they had the first by taking the game to their rivals and giving them plenty of scares. But Ten Hag's introduction of Leandro Martinez and Garnacho on the hour helped United find more composure.

Diogo Dalot struck the bar with a shot, Fred curled an effort just wide before Rashford broke the deadlock with his header - an almost identical effort to the one he scored in the midweek game with Leeds. And after Garnacho had added the second, Ten Hag's men had two more 'goals' disallowed for offside.

The match was marred by chants from the rival sets of supporters about historic tragedies involving the two clubs - the Munich air crash and the stabbing of a Leeds fan in Istanbul.

The Premier League released a statement following the game saying: "The Premier League condemns the chanting heard during today’s match between Leeds United and Manchester United. The League is treating the issue of tragedy chanting as a priority and as a matter of urgency.”

Leeds (4-2-3-1): Meslier 7; Ayling 8, Koch 7, Wober 6, Firpo 6; Adams 7, McKennie 6 (Greenwood 86, 5); Summerville 7, Harrison 6 (Aaronson 73, 5), Gnonto 6; Bamford 6 (Rutter 57, 6).

Unused subs: Roble, Gyabi, Kristensen, Monteiro, Joseph, Mullen.

Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea 7, Dalot 6 (Wan-Bissaka 82, 5), Maguire 6, Shaw 7, Malacia 6 (Martinez 60, 7); Sabitzer 6, Fred 7; Sancho 5 (Garnacho 60, 7), Fernandes 7, Rashford 7 (Elanga 90) Weghorst 6.

Unused subs: Heaton, Lindelof, Varane, Pellistri, Iqbal.

Referee: Paul Tierney 6.