Rashford claims Player of the Month prize

Saturday 31 October 2020 12:00

Birthday boy Marcus Rashford has yet another reason to smile… he’s been crowned Manchester United’s Player of the Month for October!

The in-form forward, who turns 23 today (Saturday), was the runaway winner of the vote in our Official App, with team-mates Fred and Bruno Fernandes coming second and third respectively.

As plaudits and titles continue to come in for Marcus’s brilliant work off the pitch, October represented yet another memorable month in the red shirt.

CL hat-tricks: Rashford v RB Leipzig Video

CL hat-tricks: Rashford v RB Leipzig

Three goals in 27 minutes on the pitch: Marcus Rashford’s Old Trafford treble is the quickest by a Champions League sub…

The headline-grabbing performance came in our last game, the 5-0 shellacking of RB Leipzig at Old Trafford, with Rashford netting his first-ever senior hat-trick – despite being on the pitch for less than half an hour.

That treble, which helped Marcus win the UEFA Champions League Player of the Week award, ensured our no.10 is sitting pretty at the top of the tournament's scoring charts, with four – the other, of course, arriving late on at the Parc des Princes to give us all three points against Paris Saint-Germain.

Rashy also netted at St James’ Park in a 4-1 win over Newcastle and generally impressed while filling in for the suspended Anthony Martial as an out-and-out no.9 – he also provided two assists during that trip to Tyneside.

Five strikes in five games represents Marcus’s best single month return in terms of goals since the six he managed in December 2019, which was the last time he claimed our monthly award.

He has now moved on to 74 goals in all competitions for the club, with over half of those coming under the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Rashford was nominated for September’s edition, after efforts against Luton and Brighton, but ultimately lost out to Juan Mata.

KEY STATS

NEWCASTLE (A): Rashford registered three goal involvements in a single Premier League game for the third time (one goal, two assists), also doing so against Fulham in December 2018 and Arsenal in February 2016.

PSG (A): Marcus’s late goal at the Parc des Princes consigned PSG to their first Champions League group-stage defeat at home since December 2004.

LEIPZIG (H): Rashford is only the second Manchester United player to score a hat-trick as a substitute after his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did so versus Nottingham Forest in February 1999 in the Premier League. Stats courtesy of Opta.

Highlights: PSG 1 United 2 Video

Highlights: PSG 1 United 2

In October 2020, we once again beat PSG in France, thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford...

PRAISE FOR MARCUS

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER: “What Marcus has done has been incredible with his family, with his own personality of course. Marcus has always been a great human being. Coming up through the Academy, I think the club recognised that early on and gave him chances. Of course we saw the talent, but you need to be a really good human being as well to come all the way through that. He's changed the lives of so many kids this summer, which is more important than any game of football that he would probably play.”

RIO FERDINAND: “He’s on fire. The only way I can explain tonight’s [v RB Leipzig] little cameo is almost like being on the playground at school and the big boy comes and plays - like the sixth-former - comes and plays with the first-years and just bullies everyone.”

PAUL SCHOLES: “His finishing has been questioned in the past, but you're looking at 25 goals from him if he keeps that attitude. That was like Ruud van Nistelrooy, you see him going through and you know he's going to smash the ball into the corner.”

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