Marcus Rashford is rarely out of the limelight for long these days, whether he is challenging Boris Johnson’s Government over child food poverty and free school meals or some unfortunate centre-back over the space in behind.
His name was mentioned plenty in the immediate run-up to United’s much-anticipated Champions League clash with last year’s semi-finalists RB Leipzig too, but the one place you could not find his name was the starting line-up.
The England striker was rotated out of the team by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who insisted he had a duty to protect his players and that Rashford had played the last five games, three for United and two for his country.
Instead, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood led the line, and the latter gave United a slender lead with a neat finish in the first half.
The Red Devils though, with just one home win in their last six, struggled to find the comfort of a second goal and Rashford came on shortly after the hour mark, replacing goalscorer Greenwood.
It took him just 13 minutes to make an impact, turned loose by Bruno Fernandes’ brilliant first-time pass, sprinting away from the Leipzig defence and slotting the ball past goalkeeper Peter Gulasci – only to turn and find the assistant referee standing stock still near the halfway line, signalling offside.
He had flagged as soon as Rashford had collected the pass, and both sides seemed to assume the goal would not stand.
However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) checked the decision and found that Rashford had in fact made the run from inside his own half when the ball was played, meaning he could not be offside, and since the on-field referee had not blown his whistle until the ball hit the back of the net, the Leipzig defenders should not have given up the chase.
Uefa have instructed officials in the Champions League not to put their flags up until the goal has been scored to avoid any confusion in case of an incorrect decision, but BT Sport’s refereeing expert Peter Walton suggested that the assistant had flagged nevertheless because there was such a distance between the decision and the goal.
“The flag did go up early but [only] when it’s nearer the goal, the assistants are being asked to keep their flag down,” Walton said.
In truth, any controversy in the incident could hardly be blamed for the result as Rashford went on to complete a hat-trick while Anthony Martial also added a penalty as Solskjaer’s side ran out 5-0 winners at Old Trafford.
Follow i sport on Facebook for more Man Utd news, interviews and features
More on Man Utd
- The making of Marcus Rashford: the Man Utd star who never forgot his roots
- New leader: How Fernandes made an instant impact – and lifted all those around him
- Why United are prepared to play the long-game in pursuit of Sancho
- Kevin Garside: Well done to Chadwick for reminding us all to be kind
- Man Utd need Cavani to be another Cantona – but even that may not save Solskjaer
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3e2A2Yo
Post a Comment