02 December 2023 , 22:40
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A furious Erik ten Hag will talk to Marcus Rashford following his display in Manchester United's 1-0 loss at Newcastle on Saturday.
The Magpies won at St James' Park thanks to Anthony Gordon's second-half goal. The result ends United's run of three consecutive victories in the Premier League and drops them down to seventh in the table. Newcastle, meanwhile, have jumped up to fifth.
Although the margin of victory was by just one goal, Newcastle were by far the better side at St James' Park. They had 22 attempts on goal and boasted 59 per cent of possession, with the visitors managing just one shot on target during the game.
Rashford was arguably United's most disappointing player. He failed to make an impression against Newcastle's defence and was hooked by Ten Hag after Gordon scored the winner. TNT Sports commentator Ally McCoist described his display as "very poor".
Ten Hag spoke to TNT Sports after Saturday's game, which was United's 10th defeat in all competitions this term. He was visibly frustrated with his team and gave a blunt response when asked about Rashford's performance. "I talk with him about that, not with the media," he said.
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Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions for United last season but has managed just two in 18 appearances this time around. There are calls for the forward to be dropped from the England squad, with Gordon in superb form for the Magpies.
"I think he has to be in consideration," former Newcastle midfielder Jermaine Jenas told TNT Sports when asked if Rashford should be dropped for Gordon. "The one thing we know about Gareth is that he is very loyal to his players whether they are playing or not and some of them are not even playing at times and he is still picking them.
Marcus Rashford was hooked by Ten Hag during the second half (PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)What did you think of Marcus Rashford's display against Newcastle? Let us know in the comments below!
"I think he will stick by Marcus Rashford for a period of time, but there is no doubt that you can’t ignore what Anthony Gordon is doing at the minute. The big thing for me is the work rate, and that is the big difference between him and Marcus Rashford."
Asked for his overall opinon of Saturday's game, Ten Hag said: "We had a tough first half and said at half-time we were pleased to be in the game... We will talk tomorrow with the team about it. We go back, we will talk about this and move in to Wednesday."
United host Chelsea, who are also struggling for form this season, on Wednesday. Ten Hag has backed his players to bounce back against Mauricio Pochettino's side. He said: "This team is resilient. We have seen it after (losing to Manchester) City. We had a bad defeat and we stick together. We have a plan and we keep going."