Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho made it very clear that Marcus Rashford asked him to be subbed moments before he took him off in their recent fixture against Southampton. Mourinho preferred Rashford upfront against the bottom dwellers Southampton but he, unfortunately, picked up a knock towards the end of the fixture and was replaced by Anthony Martial. The Portuguese tactician praised the spirit of the young Englishman and cleared the air that how he did not want to take the risk and aggravate the injury any further and hence he did take measures which he thought would be best suited for his side.
Mourinho right after the match told BT Sport, “Fatigue, [Rashford] was injured, he was asking to come out.”
“It was not that kind of injury, some players with that kind of injury do not play for two weeks but Marcus, I am pretty sure will be fine for the next one.
But it’s one kick here, one kick there, one fall here, one fall there. Fatigue, lots of running, lots of movement, 75 minutes and he was done and we tried then with Martial replacing him.”
However former Manchester United player and football pundit, Garth Crooks slammed Mourinho for taking off Marcus Rashford when he was the only player looking to turn the fixture on its head. He also admits that he feels that the young striker must leave Old Trafford.
“This really can not go on. Jose Mourinho is killing Marcus Rashford,” Crooks told BBC Sport.
The England international was the key player, who helped the Red Devils secure a point from the game against the Saints at the St. Marys’. One main reason for the substitution could be the upcoming game against Arsenal, though either way United did end up dropping a couple of points in this fixture.
Manchester United were not in their best of form against bottom dwellers Southampton as the Red Devils failed to bag a win after the match ended with a 2-2 stalemate away from home at the weekend. All the four goals were scored in the first half as the Red Devils came back from 2-0 down to make it 2-2 at the end of halftime. It was midfielder Stuart Armstrong who opened the scoring for the Saints on the 13th minute of the match. Mark Hughes’ side did increase their lead after 7 minutes as defender Cedric Soares double the lead.
Just when life was looking difficult for the Manchester United players on the pitch, Romelu Lukaku pulled one back for his team and it sparked a comeback for the Red Devils. Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera restored parity minutes later on the 39th-minute mark as the match ended with on an entertaining note. There were no more goals in the game and it was surely a couple of points dropped by the Manchester based side once again.
On the other hand, the draw at home led to the sacking of Southampton boss Mark Hughes after his abysmal record with the Saints this season as they find themselves in the relegation zone with nine points equal with 19th placed Burnley.
