Mourinho Praises Rashford For Europa League Heroics
Reuters / Miguel Vidal
Jose Mourinho hailed Marcus Rashford after his sensational free-kick that gave Manchester United an away goal and a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo in the Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
For many United fans, no doubt that Rashford’s 20-yard dead ball stunner evoked memories of David Beckham’s sublime free-kick in his final match for United at Everton in 2003.
In the post-match press conference, Mourinho said that the youngster’s decisive strike was a result of his hard work and dedication on the training pitch.
“Rashford is a 19-year-old kid who is in love with Football. He stays after training for half an hour to practice taking free-kicks and wait for the opportunity,” said Mourinho.
“He trains a lot, he practices, he enjoys the extra work. It’s a great free-kick because the ball moves really fast, the goalkeeper makes a little movement, and I think with the speed of the ball it’s impossible to save. He works and works and works, so we can forget his age.”
After suffering a knock, Rashford was substituted with 10 minutes left, and was later seen hobbling on the team bus. Mourinho has said that the Englishman will be accessed in the coming days, and also confirmed that some of the key players will be rested for Manchester United’s Premier League clash against Arsenal.
“Marcus started the game with a little problem and with all the running he was feeling it. The players who have an accumulation of fatigue, the players that have had lots of minutes, because we played nine matches in April and this one, so 10 matches in four and half weeks, those players are not going to play at the weekend,” confirmed the Portuguese.
Though Rashford hasn’t scored bumper hauls of goals like Ibrahimovic, he has been at his menacing best whenever he has played in a central striker’s position. And with the season entering its climax, United fans are hoping that he will carry his impressive goal scoring form.
Written by Pragadeesh Shanmugam 