"I am aware of it" - Erik ten Hag slams 'unacceptable' behavior from Marcus Rashford after Manchester United's loss to Manchester City

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has criticized Marcus Rashford after the forward had a birthday party shortly after their derby loss to Manchester City last weekend.

The Red Devils suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Cityzens at Old Trafford on October 29 after a brace from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden's 80th-minute strike.

Following the encounter, Rashford attended an event at Manchester's Chinawhite to celebrate his 26th birthday. When asked about the England international's night out, Ten Hag said ahead of Manchester United's Premier League encounter against Fulham later today (November 3) (as quoted by The Guardian):

“I am aware of it, I spoke with him about it. It is unacceptable. I told him, he apologized and that is it. It is an internal matter."

When asked whether he was fined for his actions, the former Ajax boss replied:

“It is an internal matter."

Ten Hag was then asked whether Rashford's behavior was an indication of his lack of motivation. He responded:

“Your suggestion is not right. He is very motivated to put things right. I know how much effort he is putting in. He makes a mistake but that doesn’t say [mean] he is not fitting in. He makes one mistake but also off the pitch what he is doing, how he lives, I am sure he is doing everything right to help the team.”

It was then suggested to Ten Hag that the English forward was benched in Manchester United's EFL Cup defeat to Newcastle United on Wednesday (November 1) as a disciplinary measure. The Dutch manager rubbished any such claims and said:

“No, you have seen we rotated more.”

Ten Hag also stated that the 26-year-old winger will be available for Manchester United's clash against Fulham.

"I’d be called crazy for that" - Tim Sherwood claims Manchester United's Marcus Rashford is 'good enough' to play for Man City

Former Blackburn Rovers captain Tim Sherwood has lavished praise on Rashford. The pundit believes the Manchester United forward has the quality to play for reigning English champions Manchester City.

Rashford has not been in great form this season, scoring just once in 14 appearances across all competitions. Sherwood is aware of this stat, which is why he admitted that he would receive a lot of criticism for his claims.

He said (via Football365):

“In my opinion, Marcus Rashford is good enough to play for Manchester City, but having watched him for Manchester United over the past few months I’d be called crazy for that.

“I believe that he is good enough to play for City and that Pep Guardiola would take him. He would work with him and he would play him exactly how he needs to be played. When he plays for England he doesn’t play badly."

The England international, by contrast, was in stellar form during the 2022/23 campaign. He scored 30 goals and provided 11 assists in 56 appearances for United last season, helping them win the Carabao Cup.