Alan Shearer picks out Marcus Rashford incident that has "annoyed" Erik ten Hag

06 December 2023 , 22:38

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Alan Shearer picks out Marcus Rashford incident that has "annoyed" Erik ten Hag

Marcus Rashford was never going to start for Manchester United against Chelsea after his lacklustre performance against Newcastle, according to Alan Shearer.

Rashford was dropped from the starting line-up by Erik ten Hag on Wednesday night, with the Dutchman preferring Antony in attack. He had started all but one of United's 14 Premier League games heading into the key match, but was punished for a poor showing in the 1-0 loss at Newcastle on Saturday.

Rashford has been a shadow of his former self, with just two goals in 18 appearances all season coming into the Chelsea game. And the move paid off, with United picking up a much-needed 2-1 win, as Rashford only got onto the pitch in the 84th minute as a substitute for Rasmus Hojlund.

Shearer was scathing in his review of Rashford’s recent form and body language. “He looks like a really unhappy player right now and it’s probably for the best that Ten Hag has made the decision he has tonight,” he said on Prime Video. “My question was whether or not he’d stick with him, but I looked at the manager on Saturday and he was so annoyed with what he hadn’t given then that there was no way he was being played tonight.

“I’m sure that if things aren’t going well tonight, fans will be cheering for him to come on because he’s from here, he knows the club so well and they might just need him but the attitude has to change.”

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Marcus Rashford had poor body language at Newcastle (PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

It was Scott McTominay who was the hero at Old Trafford, scoring both goals to ensure they picked up three points against an erratic Chelsea side. United missed several great chances and Bruno Fernandes had a penalty saved by Robert Sanchez, but they still got the victory they needed.

Chelsea had lots of chances themselves, with Mykhaylo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson wasteful in front of goal, but it was still a much improved performance from the Newcastle loss. Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast after that game, Shearer slammed United . He said: “I thought they were a mess, I thought they were terrible. I thought their attitude was awful and it highlighted some of the really bad attitudes they clearly have.

“When it's tough and when it's hard, you see the players who want to play for you and you see the players who want to support you as a manager and as a fan. And I thought there were three or four players who were not prepared to roll their sleeves up and gave up far too easily and didn't want to fight.”

Felix Keith