Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has been the talk of the country off the pitch and once again displayed his prowess on it. The young player has been doing both on and off the pitch. He initated a project which was aimed at giving free food to children and it has been going well.
The England international has rallied support in his bid to take on the government in the fight to provide free meals for schoolchildren. He also served up a wonderful hat-trick in the Champions League last night.
He was crictized by some and praised by others following his decision. Some said he sgould “stick to football” and they accused of “virtue signalling” too. Marcus Rashford displayed his powers at multi-tasking showing it is possible to be a campaigner at the same time as a goalscorer.
He came off the bench to net his first senior hat-trick for Manchester United in the 5-0 win over RB Leipzig. The 22-year-old did not arrive until just after the hour mark. He went ahead to net three times in 16 minutes in a virtuoso display of clinical finishing.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: “Marcus has showed he can keep focusing on what’s important on and off the pitch at the moment. He did really well today coming off the bench.”
It has been quite a month for the striker, he was honoured with an MBE recently. His petition to end child food poverty surpassing one million signatures already.
At 3-0 up and with a chance to score a hat-trick, Rashford further showed his generosity in the game. He handed the ball over to Anthony Martial to score from the penalty spot.
When he was asked if there was discussion he said: “A little bit, a little bit. I feel confident with Anthony taking them as well. So no problem.”
But there was still time remaining for Rashford to get his third. He finally did to become the second United player after Solskjaer to net a treble as a substitute.
After the game he said: “I think the manager wanted me to up the tempo.” “That for us means going forward. There were definitely spaces there.”
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton called Rashford “a brilliant footballer and a brilliant person.” Sutton described the Red Devils forward as “already a top, top player.” He also said that they “looked much a better team when he came on”.
At the end of the game, a man who is dedicated to improving people’s lives had no fans to raise his hands. This is because the game was played behind closed doors.
All three goals came in front of a deserted Stretford End. Ex-United defender Rio Ferdinand described Rashford as being “head and shoulders above Leipzig”.
He also said: “He is on fire. He’s been on the front of the papers for all the right reasons, and tomorrow he’ll be on the back of them.
“It’s like being in the playground with a sixth-former against the younger boys and he just bullies everyone too quick and too strong.
“He made some defenders, who we were raving about before the game, look like schoolboys tonight.”