Rashford Registers 50th United Appearance

Marcus Rashford made his 50th Manchester United appearance in the Europa League Round of 32 win over Saint-Etienne, almost a year after making his debut at the same stage of the competition.

The 19-year-old prospect stepped off the bench in the second half of Thursday’s first-leg tie at Old Trafford and quickly registered an assist for the second of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's three goals against the The Greens.

Rashford has now tallied a half century of outings for the club and that caps his sensational rise over the last 12 months, having emerged from the Academy to become one of the brightest stars of English football.

FANS BUZZING WITH RASHFORD’S FIRST YEAR
To mark Rashford’s 50th United appearance and to reflect on his first excellent 12 months as a Red, we spoke to United supporters at Old Trafford. Watch the video above to see what they had to say.
 
MOURINHO: HE HAS AN AMAZING FUTURE
“Last season was the season of the surprise,” Jose told MUTV on Wednesday afternoon. “Nobody knew him, he came and his impact was tremendous. This has been a difficult season in relation to that. 
"But this is a season of growing up, being stable, strong, physically strong, mentally strong, tactically strong, he is playing in almost every match, sometimes starting and coming from the bench. It's been a great experience for him. He is a 19-year-old boy and, obviously, he has an amazing future.”

RASHFORD’S BREAKOUT FIRST SEASON
Rashford famously took his senior bow with United in last season’s Europa League Round of 32 second-leg tie against FC Midtjylland, when he was originally named on the bench but was thrust into the starting XI when Anthony Martial suffered an injury while warming up. Undeterred, the Academy graduate then notched two goals and was voted Man of the Match by Reds supporters.

United’s breakout star followed that up with another brace against rivals Arsenal in the Premier League and went on to finish the 2015/16 season with 18 appearances and eight goals, which included a much-celebrated winner in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium. He also started the triumphant FA Cup final victory over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, to collect his first-ever winners' medal.

Such outrageous form prompted former England manager Roy Hodgson to include Rashford in his preliminary squad for Euro 2016 and, having scored on his Three Lions debut in a friendly against Australia, Marcus went onto to become the nation’s youngest-ever player at the competition.

WHAT’S HAPPENED THIS SEASON?
Shrewdly, Mourinho quickly identified his talent upon his appointment as United manager in June by tying him down to a long-term contract and the boss has nurtured his education since then, selecting him to play as a starter or substitute in 32 of the club’s 40 matches in all competitions.

Highlights of 2016/17 include his added-time winner in August’s Premier League win at Hull City, three goals in as many games in September and a brace against Reading in the FA Cup.

While those six goals may amount to his current total in his second campaign, there is no doubt that Rashford is learning from Mourinho, plus the absurdly experienced strikers around him in Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, two players he has openly saluted and admired in interviews.