The Story Back Then- The star trio of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard have come in for severe criticism after Manchester United’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. Both Rashford and Martial started the game and looked ineffective throughout the whole game. Jesse Lingard came on as a substitute in the 74-year-old and failed to provide any sort of quality that he was brought in for.
Former Spurs midfielder turned TV pundit Jermaine Jenas was highly critical of the trio when he was analyzing the game. “What worried me today was the complete lack of movement in their team, everyone was just stale and stuck in their positions,” Jenas said on Match of the Day.
“They were really sloppy in that final third. They have to find a way to get themselves in that six-yard box because it is happening too often. Rashford was not even looking at the game until it is too late.
“You know what Dan James will do, get in that six-yard box. You have the three guys you want to score goals – Rashford, Lingard and Martial – nowhere near it, not even close.
“Manchester United have not even played well today and they have still created all these opportunities where people are not even getting close. It is a little bit embarrassing. You have a manager on the sidelines who would probably have scored a hat-trick today in what was probably one of the worst performances he has seen from United. It was just stale and there was no direction to what they were doing today.”
Manchester United’s squad were in for a tricky week as they face their former manager Jose Mourinho in the mid-week as the Red Devils take on Spurs at Old Trafford. They also had to travel to face their cross-town rivals Manchester City at the Etihad in the Manchester Derby on Saturday.
With their 2-2 stalemate against Aston Villa, Manchester United was just six points ahead of the 18-placed Southampton (back then). Ole Gunnar Solskjær is under severe pressure from the fans and the media but the manager looks rather relaxed as he looks to have the complete trust of the club hierarchy.
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Rashford and eventually Martial did step up and take some responsibility towards the end of the previous year. However, Jesse Lingard failed to make any sort of impact, not just in 2019 but at the start of 2020 as well. He has really failed to live up to expectations and could be sold in the upcoming transfer window if the club is able to bring in new reinforcements.
If that happens, the funds will then help the Red Devils reinforce their squad. They will be looking at some high-quality stars who can help them win titles once again. The current squad needs to make amends in order to become a top side and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the club management will have to sign the right stars soon. Only time will tell which new players get added to the squad at Old Trafford.