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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Marc Mayo

Erik ten Hag reveals pre-season message to Marcus Rashford that helped spark sensational Man United form

Marcus Rashford was hailed by Erik ten Hag for firing Manchester United to victory against Leeds.

The Red Devils were far from their best for much of the Premier League clash at Elland Road, their manager admitting they lacked “composure” and failed to remain “calm” before Rashford’s 79th-minute winner.

The in-form forward buried his 21st goal of the campaign by heading home Luke Shaw’s fine cross, which earned him a warm embrace from Ten Hag at full time.

“I said, ‘What a strike!” he revealed to Sky Sports. “It is what he is aiming for every game.

“I spoke to him at the start of the season, ‘Every game you will get into a position to score and you have the capabilities to score, so it’s about keeping that focus over 90 minutes’.

“And if you do that, as you can see, he can score with left [foot], with right and with his head.”

Alejandro Garnacho added a second for Man United shortly afterwards to push back against a wobbly run of form in the league.

Ten Hag had made four changes to his side amid a busy run of games, including handing Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire rare starts.

“Once again we showed we are a squad,” he continued. “We are the only team in the whole of Europe playing in four competitions.

“You have to use your squad and everyone is contributing, everyone is important and that’s a good thing to know. You can use it tactically and today we did that as well.”

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