THERE was a wistful smile on Marcus Rashford’s face when ref Donatus Rumsas brandished the red card.It was the look of a man convinced that everything which can go wrong, is going wrong.
Rashford had a wistful smile as the referee brandished a red cardCredit: Getty
Back in Manchester United’s team after a “minor knock” and a visit to a nightclub described as “unacceptable” by boss Erik ten Hag, Rashford was sent off for the first time in five years and for only the second time in his professional career.
And this as his United goal drought stretched to 11 appearances while Ten Hag’s side plunged to the bottom of their Champions League group, facing the ignominy of an early exit from Europe’s elite club competition.
As United’s players slunk away from FC Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium — having twice conceded two goals in quick succession and been defeated 4-3 by the Danish champions — news emerged that Rashford’s brother and agent, Dane, had been arrested in the United States on a domestic violence charge.
Rashford, 26, looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and his individual struggles are symbolic of a wider malaise at Old Trafford.
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He is a man of substance — a social justice crusader and an MBE, as well as an outstanding footballer. And as the local hero of this side, Rashford carries extra responsibility, especially in a squad so short on leadership qualities.
Last season, the England forward netted 30 times for United — sharp, direct, confident and often unplayable.
This term, he has lacked conviction and self-belief in a team bereft of attacking identity.
He will now be suspended for United’s Group A trip to Istanbul, where they face Galatasaray in 19 days’ time.
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The England forward looks a far cry from the man that bagged 30 goals last seasonCredit: Getty
Lose there and the Red Devils will be eliminated from the Champions League.
Draw and they will need to defeat Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in their final group match on December 12 to stand any chance of advancing.
After United’s episode of Nordic noir in Copenhagen, Ten Hag, in his trademark roll-neck sweater, resembled a lighthouse keeper battered by one too many storms, desperately clinging to the hope of a change in the shipping forecast.
The Dutchman bemoaned his team’s ill fortune, in having conceded four penalties in as many Champions League matches this season — three of them, he claimed, undeserved.
He said: “We are in a season where we have to deal with many decisions against us but a season is long and at one point it will turn in our favour.”
Yet while Ten Hag was correct to complain that VAR’s slow-mo replays and freeze framing had made Rashford’s challenge on Elias Jelert look worse than it was, the tyranny of technology is the age in which he is operating.
Rashford looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and his individual struggles are symbolic of a wider malaise at Old Trafford.Dave Kidd
Under current interpretations of the laws, Rashford’s dismissal was almost certainly correct.
And when Ten Hag praised his team’s “spirit” and “resilience”, it felt as if he had forgotten those two quickfire doubles at the end of either half which condemned United to defeat.
Truly spirited and resilient teams do not concede in such a manner, even when reduced to ten men.
And plenty of United’s opponents — not least Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Brentford, all edged out at Old Trafford — will disagree with Ten Hag’s assessment that the Red Devils have been bedevilled by extreme misfortune.
You make your own luck and United — beaten nine times in 17 matches this season — are too often the manufacturers of their own downfall.
Their forwards do not score in the Premier League and their defenders keep conceding poor goals in the Champions League.
Rashford’s strike in September’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal is the only league goal scored by a United forward this season.
His best performance of the campaign came in England’s impressive 3-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win over champions Italy last month — where he netted with a thumping finish and played with far greater freedom in a confident side.
There, Rashford looked like a man happy for some respite from his club’s miserable plight.
At United, it is unlikely that there is a united front behind Ten Hag, with some players believed to be unhappy at the handling of the ostracised Jadon Sancho, as well as Harry Maguire, who had been largely frozen out until recently.
Sancho still finds himself ostracised by Manchester UnitedCredit: Alamy
Long-term injuries to Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Luke Shaw have hindered United, for sure, but Ten Hag’s is a lavishly expensive squad.
Three of his own major signings — Antony, Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat — started on the bench in Copenhagen.
This is no skeleton staff.
Too many of Ten Hag’s players are underperforming, especially in that misfiring forward line.
That the Dutchman’s job is probably safe, even if United are dumped out in the group stage, owes much to the uncertainty at boardroom level and an impending regime change.
Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to take control of football operations after purchasing a 25 per cent stake in United.
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Ratcliffe, like Rashford, is a local lad made good.
If and when he takes over, he will need his fellow Mancunian to rediscover his mojo. More
