Marcus Rashford’s Premier League debut for Aston Villa has piqued the interest of Manchester United fans who are used to seeing him in a different uniform. The winger, who has made two substitute appearances since his January arrival, was named in Unai Emery’s line-up to face the Reds at Villa Park, regarded as one of the greatest stadiums in Premier League history.
With No.9 on his back, Wythenshawe-born Rashford started on the left side of manager Emery’s attacking line, with Marco Asensio, Morgan Rogers, and Ollie Watkins, and led his team to a 2-2 tie.
The 27-year-old Carrington graduate moved to the West Midlands during the mid-winter transfer window after falling out of favour with Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim, and he’s now hoping to get his career back on track. But how did he fare versus Liverpool?
Marcus Rashford Makes Manchester United Debut
Competition
Date
Match Result:
Age
The Premier League
Feb 28, 2016
Manchester United 3-2 Arsenal.
18 years, 3 months and 28 days.
FA Cup
March 13, 2016.
Manchester United 1–1 West Ham
18 years, 4 months and 11 days.
Community Shield
Aug 7, 2016
Leicester 1-2 Manchester United
18 years, 9 months and 7 days.
The Europa League
Feb 25, 2015
Manchester United 5-1 Midtjylland.
18 years, 3 months and 25 days.
The Champions League
Sep 12, 2017
Manchester United 3-0 Basel.
19 years, ten months, and twelve days.
Rashford makes his first Premier League start for Aston Villa.
The winger’s assist for Watkins was ruled offside.
Rashford has already had success against Liverpool while at Old Trafford, including two goals in 2017/18. He also scored a goal in Manchester United’s 4-3 FA Cup victory over Liverpool last season.
This time, Rashford, largely considered as one of the greatest ‘confidence’ players in world football, began from the start (for the first time in claret and blue) and was replaced by the versatile Jacob Ramsey in the 67th minute.
Rashford, who has yet to play a full 90 minutes for his new club, had 39 touches of the ball in his first start for Aston Villa and appeared to be sharp and direct on the majority of times, as demonstrated by his four dribbling attempts.
Rashford was successful in half (two) of those, but was marked by his compatriot Trent Alexander-Arnold, who frequently relied on Ryan Gravenberch to double-up on the tricky winger. He won 4/7 of his ground duels while contesting zero in the air.
Rashford’s single shot of the game, a daring try from outside the box, was fruitless, and his passing was ineffective. In fact, data show that he had a 74% success rate on Wednesday evening under the lights (17/23).
However, one of his passes, a first assist, was pinpointed to an eagerly awaiting Watkins, who easily beat Alisson. It was called offside, but it demonstrated Rashford’s determination to maraud into the box, wreak havoc, and play provider.
Rashford completed zero of his five attempted crosses inside Villa Park, and he also lost control 16 times, indicating that his adjustment process is taking longer than expected.
However, his highlights package (watch in full below) provides more than a glimmer of hope. Despite not scoring on every try, the dynamic striker could be seen making runs in behind, linking up well with teammates, and scrapping for the ball, all of which Manchester United fans chastised him for.
Marcus Rashford vs Liverpool pic.twitter.com/JxKYN23IGC
— Dzner™️ (@DznerV3) February 19, 2025
Fans React to Rashford’s 67-Minute Cameo vs Liverpool
‘The way Rashford strikes fear into defenders when he’s at full flow…’
According to football journalist Henry Winter, Rashford, who was linked to Barcelona before joining Aston Villa, was ‘dangerous in bursts’ during Wednesday night’s Premier League match. The game was expected to be difficult for Liverpool, but Tielemans and Rogers were excellent, Rashford was dangerous in bursts, Martinez was good, and Liverpool earned a point. Salah was superb once again, with 24 goals and 15 assists in the PL. Sign him up.
The way Rashford strikes fear into defenders when he’s at full flow…
— James. (@afcjxmes) February 19, 2025
When compared to Alejandro Garnacho’s performances for Manchester United, one fan admitted that Rashford has yet to find his full groove at his new club but still provides more than the Argentine.
In the immediate aftermath of the 2-2 draw, they wrote: “Truth is this isn’t even Rashford in top form, he tired out quickly and didn’t have his shooting boots on tonight, but he was better than the Garnacho performances we suffer through week after week.”
Regarding Rashford driving Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk into a mistake, another said: “An out of touch Rashford who hasn’t played in two months has VVD sending it into his own net in 15 minutes yet I’m expected to think he doesn’t want it. Cool.”
