Why Rashford is the best since van Persie

Thursday 27 April 2023 22:17

Marcus Rashford was back among the goals for Manchester United in north London, as we drew 2-2 with Tottenham Hotspur.

Our no.10 netted for the first time since early April, as he latched on to Bruno Fernandes’s laser-accurate diagonal ball before arrowing the ball into the net, past the despairing dive of Fraser Forster.

The goal doubled our first-half advantage at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, after Rashford had earlier teed up Jadon Sancho for the opener in what was a key clash in the race for the Champions League places. The home side pegged us back after the break though, with goals from Pedro Porro and Heung-min Son ensuring it ended level.

Rashford’s goal was his 29th strike of a superb campaign - which was already his best on an individual level, beating the 22 he netted across all competitions in 2019/20.

Rashford's emphatic finish Video

Rashford's emphatic finish

Marcus latched onto Bruno's diagonal ball before thumping beyond Fraser Forster to double our lead against Spurs...

There’s still a good deal of the season left to play, with United having seven Premier League games and the Emirates FA Cup final against Manchester City to negotiate.

But Rashford has already scored more goals across a single term in all competitions than any Red since Robin van Persie in 2012/13.

The Dutchman, who was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson from arch-rivals Arsenal, was inspirational for United in our last Premier League title-winning season.

Robin scored 26 times in 38 top-flight games as we clinched our 20th English championship, and he also scored three goals in Europe and one in the Emirates FA Cup to bring his finally tally to 30.

That’s the next target for Rashford – and if he scores two more he’ll emulate Wayne Rooney, the last United player to net more than 30 goals in a season for us.

Wayne did that the year before Robin’s arrival, in 2011/12, registering 34 times that year.

All The Goals: Robin van Persie Video

All The Goals: Robin van Persie

All The Goals | Twelve years on from his debut, enjoy all of Robin van Persie's finishes as a United player...

TOP SCORERS SINCE 2012/13

2012/13 = Van Persie (30 goals)
2013/14 = Rooney (19)
2014/15 = Rooney (14)
2015/16 = Martial (17)
2016/17 = Ibrahimovic (28)
2017/18 = Lukaku (27)
2018/19 = Pogba (16)
2019/20 = Martial (23)
2020/21 = Fernandes (28)
2021/22 = Ronaldo (24)
2022/23 = Rashford (29)

*Across all competitions

How many goals will Rashy finish the season with? He's on 29 with eight matches to play...poll

How many goals will Rashy finish the season with? He's on 29 with eight matches to play...

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