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Marcus Rashford is making the headlines for all the right reasons now. In a game where everyone was talking about Harry Kane in the build-up, the Manchester United youngster stole the show, displaying all the knacks of a top striker.
Rashford's development under Solskjaer has been phenomenal, and the Englishman has now scored as many goals under Solskjaer in 6 games as he had scored for the entire season under Jose Mourinho! The Norwegian has Rashford playing to his strengths again, putting his speed, power and relentlessness to good use, but the one thing that has been impressive about the English striker has been his finishing.
Even with Lukaku on the bench, Solskjaer has preferred to use Rashford as his main man, a decision that has worked fantastically well for both the club and the youngster. That goal against Tottenham was Rashford's 40th for Manchester United since his debut and it is here that the comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo makes sense.
Ronaldo debuted for Manchester United as an 18-year-old and scored a total of 118 goals from 292 appearances for the club. Like Rashford, the Portuguese started out in the left wing, before moving to a more central position where he excelled as a frontman with frightening finishing power. He was fast, he was strong, he had quick feet and was excellent in front of goal. Which is why a young Rashford brings back memories of the young Portuguese.
Ronaldo scored 6 goals from 40 games in his debut season, then followed it up with 9 goals from 50 games in the following season, before raking up 12 goals from 47 appearances in his third season. Rashford has struck 8 times in 18 games in his first season, 11 times in 53 games in his second, and 13 times in 52 games in his third.
While the Englishman has reached 40 goals for United in 149 appearances, it took a little longer for the Portuguese to reach the same figure. Ronaldo could only hit 31 goals in his first 149 games for Manchester United.
If the stats are an indication, Marcus Rashford has the potential of having the same influence as Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United. However, it was from his fourth season that the Portuguese turned up the steam. Ronaldo scored 23 goals from 53 appearances, including 17 in the league. Rashford is in his fourth season now and has managed 8 goals from 26 appearances so far.
It is a tough ask for the youngster to match the Portuguese's returns this time, but under Solskjaer's able guidance, Rashford has shown a desire to triumph the impossible so far and you cannot write him off just yet.
