Alan Shearer insists his criticism of Marcus Rashford has been fair and warranted after the Manchester United forward scored his first goal of the season against Southampton on Saturday.
A goal drought existing since March ended at St. Mary’s Stadium when Rashford curled his effort in the bottom right corner. Rashford scored United’s second goal after Matthijs de Ligt opened the scoring on the South Coast.
Rashford has been subject to lots of criticism throughout the goal drought, but Erik ten Hag believes more goals will follow soon.
One outspoken critic is retired footballer turned pundit Alan Shearer.
When asked on Match of the Day if his comments on Rashford had been unfair, Shearer said (via Mirror): “No I don’t think it [the criticism] has been unfair. He doesn’t get criticised when he plays like he has today, that was much, much better.”
Gary Lineker then asked if Rashford is a target for criticism – more so than his team-mates, some of which have underperformed just as much as the forward.
The former England striker replied: “No, it’s because of the standard that he’s set. We saw him score, two seasons ago, over 30 goals. We know he can do it, you want to see that on a more regular basis.
“There was a reason why he wasn’t in the England squad, but when he performs like that he doesn’t get any criticism. Much, much better today and hopefully we’ll see that more on a regular basis now, because he can do it.”
Whether players like it or not, criticism is part of the game and this is something Rashford must overcome in his career to succeed and meet his expectations.
Shearer raises a valid point that Rashford has set high standards in the past, which is why everyone expects the best from him.
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