Ralf Rangnick on Marcus Rashford's recent poor form
Manchester United players were reportedly left ‘baffled’ by Ralf Rangnick for snubbing Marcus Rashford against Leicester on Saturday. The Red Devils went into the match at Old Trafford without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood. But the England international still didn’t make his manager’s starting XI, instead being left on the bench.
It’s been a nightmare season for United, who now sit seventh in the Premier League table and facing a campaign without Champions League football next term.
And Rashford has epitomised their struggles, with the England international scoring just five goals across all competitions.
Against Leicester, Rangnick decided to leave the forward on the bench despite being without Ronaldo, Cavani and Greenwood.
That move then backfired, with United looking flat throughout the showdown - with Rashford unable to make much of an impact after coming on in the second half.
Now, the Manchester Evening News say certain members of the squad were left baffled by Rangnick for leaving the 24-year-old on the bench.
And the mood around the club has now stooped to a new low.
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Man Utd star Marcus Rashford was benched for Leicester draw (Image: GETTY)
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United were poor against Leicester and were lucky to avoid defeat, with James Maddison having a late goal chalked off by VAR.
There’s a real sense they’ll miss out on Champions League football now, too, having lost more ground in the race for the top four.
Rangnick tried to put on a brave face after seeing United toil again and opened up on his decision to leave Rashford out of his starting line-up by saying: “[With] Marcus, it’s no secret that he is not having his best time right now, it has to do with rhythm and confidence as well and, yeah, again it’s our job to help him to get this confidence back and that is why I decided to bring him on.
“In the end, he has to do it himself obviously but the only thing we can do is speak to him regularly and tell him what we expect from him and what he should do. The rest has to be done by himself.
“There are quite a few examples this season of players - some of them who are still here with us and one or two of who are no longer here - who have shown that it is possible to develop within a couple of weeks a level of confidence where you can be a different player again.
“We all know that Marcus can play better, but again in the end the steps he has to take himself.”
Rio Ferdinand has also had his say on the matter.
And the United legend, speaking on his YouTube channel, has expressed a belief that Rangnick’s attitude towards Rashford is bad for the forward’s confidence.
“What must Rashford be thinking now?” he said.
“Maybe there’s new contract negotiations behind the scenes, but if you’re him, you’re sitting there thinking ‘wow, this gaffer doesn’t fancy me.