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Manchester United legend Paul Scholes hailed Marcus Rashford for his wonderful strike to give his side a 1-0 lead against Manchester City on Sunday, March 3.
The Red Devils went ahead against their local rivals at the Etihad thanks to Rashford's howitzer in the eighth minute but conceded thrice to lose 3-1.
Scholes lavished praise on Rashford for how well he struck the ball past Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson.
The former England international told Premier League Productions, as quoted by HITC Sport:
“Absolutely brilliant. It’s very direct from the goalkeeper. I think Dias will be a little bit disappointed because he lets Fernandes get in there. But what a strike from Marcus Rashford. When it’s rolling back to him, it’s something where your eyes light up and you think ‘I am going to give it a real hit’, and he does. It’s always better when it goes in off the crossbar as well.”
Phil Foden scored an excellent long-range goal in the 30th minute to equalize the game before scoring again in the 80th minute. Erling Haaland scored in the 91st minute to put the game to bed.
Rashford was Manchester United's best player by some distance last season and played a key role as they finished third in the table. The Englishman scored 30 goals and provided 11 assists in 56 appearances across competitions for the Red Devils in 2022-23.
The attacker's form has fallen off a cliff this season, with the 26-year-old scoring just six times and producing six assists in 33 appearances across competitions. Manchester United have also suffered with Rashford's dip in form as they find themselves sixth in the table, 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola praises two Manchester United injury absentees
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola heaped praise on Manchester United duo of Lisandro Martinez and Rasmus Hojlund following his side's 3-1 win over the Red Devils.
The two players sat out the game because of injuries and Guardiola admitted that playing without two of the most important players is tough for any side.
“A striker in the best moment and scoring goals, today he’s injured. A central defender, an Argentina guy, Lisandro is a top-class player and the same, he’s injured, so when this happens, it’s not easy," the Spanaird said.
Manchester United are not having the best season and injuries have made their life even more difficult.
Star defender Lisandro Martinez has played just 740 minutes of football this season while Rasmus Hojlund has already missed 11 games because of injury problems.
