Marcus Rashford has been given a lease of life since joining Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United – and the French media have supplied their verdict after Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-1 triumph over Unai Emery’s side on Wednesday.
Morgan Rogers scored the game-winning goal for Aston Villa after Rashford played a key role. He peeled off on the left, delivered an inch-perfect ball to Youri Tielemans, who squared it to the goal scorer. Emery had him positioned in the center-forward role.
The home team, however, already has a foot in the Champions League semi-finals after goals from PSG trifecta Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Nuno Mendes. That will depend on how smoothly the return leg goes at Villa Park.
The Response of French Media to Rashford’s Parc des Princes Performance
In the 79th minute, Ollie Watkins took the place of the Englishman.
Rashford’s abilities are well known to PSG, the team that consistently wins the top division in France. With his game-winning penalty in 2019–20, the 27-year-old stepped up for the Red Devils. As a reminder, watch it below:
However, what are the reactions of the French media to his performance this time around? The Englishman, who will return to Old Trafford in the summer, received a 3/10 rating from Get French Football News because PSG’s excellent defence spoilt his potential.
Rashford’s ability to enter the game was understandably constrained by Aston Villa’s inability to maintain any sort of control over the PSG half. He lost possession eight times and only managed 29 touches. However, he was at fault for not holding the ball up better and letting the opposition develop their plans.
Rashford’s 79-minute cameo was also criticised by FootMercato. It took him twenty-two minutes to enjoy his first touch of the ball in PSG’s box, they pointed out. As a sign of his extremely challenging game, the Englishman touched his first ball in the Parisian camp in the 22nd minute.
The French publication went on to say, “He was an important relay on the goal action, on which he launched Tielemans in the surface (35th).” “But he could only provide that much.”
After Marcus Rashford’s arrival, the Aston Villa star has been accused of “downing tools.” It’s understandable why Rashford’s teammate has appeared completely different in recent months.
According to football365, France’s 90min commented on PSG’s strong start and Rashford’s team’s incapacity to mount their own attacks: “The English striker had a strange start, as he was unavailable for 25 minutes.” Waves of Parisian attacks befell his team; he made a smaller contribution.
“It was as the match continued that he finally showed himself, in what the Villans master best: rapid transitions,” they said before adding, “Initially fairly clunky, he managed several crucial technical plays.”
On Rashford’s display, they concluded: “On a long ball from Rogers, he took advantage of a misjudgement from Beraldo to sprint into the box and send a back pass that was ultimately cleared by the Parisian defence.”
xz
