Marcus Rashford, Mike Phelan and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Rashford: How we plotted Wembley winner

Sunday 13 January 2019 20:44

Marcus Rashford and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have opened up on the thinking behind the attack and finish that led to Manchester United's winner at Wembley against Tottenham Hotspur.

The goal helped the Reds earn their sixth consecutive win under caretaker manager Solskjaer and a first success away at Spurs since March 2012.
 
But the decisive move and finish were no coincidence, as both Rashford and his manager explained when speaking to MUTV after the final whistle.
 
"We've done a lot of work in training on switching the play and little things like that," revealed the in-form forward, who now has four goals in his last five Premier League games.

"We've had a long week in training and it's been tough in training, but that's the type of thing we've been working on. So for it to come out in a game is good for us as players and good for the staff as well."
'Practice made perfect' Video

'Practice made perfect'

Marcus Rashford on the secrets behind his beautifully worked winner at Spurs...

The quick counter began when Jesse Lingard intercepted a stray Tottenham pass in midfield, before feeding Paul Pogba. The Frenchman then unfurled a stunning cross-field pass that flowed beautifully into Rashford's path, and the England international cracked a low, precise shot across Hugo Lloris into the bottom corner of the goal.
 
"At first I wanted to try and take it across the defender," confessed the Academy graduate, "but I think if I had done that there was a chance of him getting a toe on it. So the first touch was a little bit too wide, but from there I knew what I wanted to do. It made it a bit more difficult, but it doesn't matter now because it went in!"
Solskjaer and the coaching staff have not only been working on United's transition play from defence into attack, but also on the finishing of the team's young forwards.
 
The manager - who himself netted 126 goals for United - was full of praise for Rashford's strike, and believes that too was down to high-quality work on the training field.
 
"When he came through I was thinking about the near post: hard, high, near post!" admitted the man who scored arguably the most famous goal in United history in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
Solskjaer: I told the boys to be proud Video

Solskjaer: I told the boys to be proud

"I said to the boys to be proud because they followed the plan to perfection," Ole told us at Wembley...

"But it was a fantastically-taken shot, that. It is a difficult skill. If it bounces for you then you can hit it on the outside, so you can curl it the other way, but this was as straight as a dye. It is a fantastic finish that just shows practice makes perfect, because he has been practicing lately in that position.
 
"When you are 21, playing for Man United, scoring the goals he does, of course you are going to be confident. He has all the right to be confident because he is playing at the top of his game at the moment.”
 
The winning moment keeps United's momentum under the new boss motoring on, drawing the Reds level in fifth position with Arsenal, who we trailed by eight points when Solskjaer was appointed.

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