ONE Manchester United fan could not hide her despair as Marcus Rashford stepped up to take a free-kick against Chelsea. During the coverage of the clash yesterday, the camera zoomed in on the England man as he prepared for his effort. But in the background, one woman – in a white hoody – can be […]
ONE Manchester United fan could not hide her despair as Marcus Rashford stepped up to take a free-kick against Chelsea.
During the coverage of the clash yesterday, the camera zoomed in on the England man as he prepared for his effort.
But in the background, one woman – in a white hoody – can be spotted hiding her head in her hands after realising who was trying his luck.
And she was not the only one blasting Rashford, 21, for hogging set pieces just outside the box.
One fan on Twitter wrote: “We have Pogba and Mata on the pitch yet Rashford has 1st dibs on free kicks and every time it is shockingly bad.”
Another added: “Why does Marcus Rashford take free-kicks for us? Such a waste.”
A third said: “What is this myth about Rashford being a good free kick taker? Complete myth.”
And it appears they have a point.
Rashford’s record with free-kicks is surprisingly low considering he is often the man given the responsibility to find the back of the net.
From his 37 shots at goal from direct free-kicks, he has scored just three times.
That works out at a success rate of just 8.1 per cent – in comparison, Juan Mata’s record stands at eight goals from 30 attempts, totalling a stunning 26.7 per cent.
Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, meanwhile, are yet to score a direct free-kick between them from their 30 efforts for United.
One of those goals came just three minutes into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first game in charge, the 5-1 win at Cardiff.
His other two came in Europe and both proved to be the only goals in the games.
He scored in the Europa League semi-final at Celta Vigo in May 2017 and then away at Benfica in the Champions League group stages the following season.
But Rashford may not get the chance to try his luck should Manchester United get a free-kick within shooting range in their next game.
That is because the striker is a doubt for the game at Huddersfield on Sunday with a shoulder injury.
He came off after 65 minutes yesterday and Solskjaer admitted he may be without the Englishman for the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium.
The Norwegian said: “Rashy’s struggled with his shoulder and he came through an hour, but couldn’t do more.
“He was strapped before game. You could see his shoulder was hurting.”
Why does Marcus Rashford take free-kicks for us? Such a waste.
— Aidan Walsh
(@AidanWalshMUFC) April 21, 2019
