Marcus Rashford - The night a star was born

“He is the option at this moment for this position.”

Louis van Gaal was on the brink of laughter as he assessed the promotion of Marcus Rashford to first team duty back in February 2016, intoning that the alternative to providing cover for first-choice striker Anthony Martial was simply having no cover at all.

As the Dutchman prepared his United side for the second leg of the Europa League meeting with FC Midtjylland, his options were diminishing all the time. There was no alternative to victory against the Danes, having won just six of the previous 19 games, including a 2-1 reverse in the first leg, while in his selection process he had only Rashford and Martial available to spearhead his attack.

Skipper Wayne Rooney was injured, Javier Hernandez had been sold and James Wilson loaned out, while Will Keane had suffered a groin injury just three minutes after entering the Reds’ FA Cup win over Shrewsbury Town as a substitute three days earlier. Adnan Januzaj, named by van Gaal as his alternative alternate, was cup-tied in the Europa League. And injured.

So, when Martial’s hamstring felt tight during the pre-match warm-up, the latest setback in a season of eye-rolling exasperation handed the floor to a player whose name wasn’t even in the United Review squad list, so late was his call-up.

Rashford had twice been among van Gaal’s unused substitutes in late 2015, at Watford and Leicester City, but never had he set foot on the pitch during a senior game. His first and second starts for the Reds’ under-21s had come in the 10 days before Midtjylland’s visit, his previous seven sub outings averaging a shade over 20 minutes each in duration.

Little surprise, then, that in the visitors’ dressing room, the news of Rashford’s inclusion provoked optimism when it was confirmed shortly before kick-off. Equally inevitably, the Danes had been unable to do any homework on a player who literally had his own homework to do.

“The reaction was a bit similar to before the first leg when we found out that a lot of their more experienced players were missing,” reveals Midtjylland midfielder Tim Sparv. “We felt we had a realistic chance of upsetting United. Playing away from home in Europe without important key players is very tough and a reason why we were on top in the first leg.

“Martial is one of United's most dangerous players and it should have been an upside for us that he was missing, but little did we know that they had a secret gem in Rashford. I don’t remember us being briefed about him beforehand. Because we all watch Premier League during the weekend we were well aware of who their danger men were. Or at least, that's what we thought.”

Over in the home dressing room, the youngster took it all in his stride. “You can be nervous,” shrugs Marcus, looking back, “but at the end of the day you are going to play, it is reality that you are going to play so you kind of just prepare yourself as it is just any other game. I don’t think it is good when you are nervous or tense. You are not going to perform to your best like that.”

Rashford set the ball rolling on the night, nudging the kick-off to Ander Herrera, but it was Memphis, enjoying the outstanding performance of his debut season, who was United’s star man in the first period. Nevertheless, the Danes retained an aggregate lead going into the interval. Pione Sisto put Midtjylland 3-1 ahead on aggregate, and though Nikolay Bodurov’s own-goal quickly hauled United back into the game, Mikkel Andersen’s save from a Juan Mata penalty briefly dampened the mood inside Old Trafford. For Rashford, one shot on target, one off and one blocked constituted the tangible output of 45 minutes, but an array of backheels, stepovers and surges of pace did plenty of provoke murmurs of optimism from the stands whenever he had the ball.

At the break, however, he continued to go under the visitors’ radar. “We were very disappointed in our own attacking game,” says Sparv, of Midtjylland’s half-time team talk. “We changed strikers and went from a quick, deep running player to a more physical and target type of player to keep hold of the ball better. We tried to change things but what I can remember is that Rashford was not our main focus at half-time.”

Within long, he would be everybody’s main focus. On 63 minutes, only Rashford anticipated that Mata would reach Guillermo Varela’s deep cross before it went out of play, and the teenager duly provided a first-time finish of crisp precision to give the Spaniard’s pull-back the treatment it deserved. Rashford didn’t break stride, sprinting away into the arms of supporters next to the Old Trafford tunnel and the hearts of Reds everywhere.

With that, a switch flicked and the youngster illuminated the evening. Having tracked Rashford’s run to the right flank, centre-back Kian Hansen was left bamboozled by the striker’s shoulder-drop and turn of pace. Soon afterwards, right-back Bodurov was caught in possession and left for dead. Each instance of the kid’s fearlessness, skill and athleticism served to crank up the supporters’ volume.

With 15 minutes remaining, it reached a crescendo when Varela surged into the visitors’ area, checked back and drifted a left-footed cross over seven players, bound for the edge of the six yard box. Whereas the flock of bodies migrated to the front post, Rashford twice purposely held back before timing his run perfectly for a simple tap-in. Cue bedlam and an identical celebration with the quickly smitten supporters.

“For me that was the start of everything, so it's very important for me,” says Marcus. “The fans really helped me that night. Whatever you think about before the game and how you imagine they'll be, it's completely different. That's the biggest thing I remember. They were amazing.”

The mutual love-in which started that night has not stopped since, with Rashford’s startling seven months encompassing an FA Cup winners’ medal, Euro 2016 appearances and a new long-term United contract. So charming is his tale that even the vanquished visitors have since been able to reflect with resigned humour on their role in proceedings.

“I have to be honest, while playing I was so focused on what we were doing wrong or right that I didn't even realise that this guy was not only making his debut but also scoring,” remembers Sparv. “But you could see that he had a very direct approach when he got the ball at his feet. He's fast, opportunistic and fearless. The two goals say it all about his performance. He and Memphis were brilliant. After a while we tried to see the funny side of things and joked that we made him the player he is today. Without us he would still be playing youth football!”

After February’s tie, Midtjylland had an extra day to recover, leaving Sparv – a devout United fan – free to watch the Reds’ Premier League meeting with Arsenal. With Martial still nursing his hamstring, circumstances once again placed Rashford in the starting line-up at Old Trafford. This time, the 18-year-old needed only 32 minutes to score twice, also embellishing his outstanding performance with an assist for Ander Herrera in a thrilling 3-2 victory.

“I was very surprised to see him do it again against Arsenal, but it’s a Cinderella story,” smiles Sparv. “Football's unpredictability is what makes it so great to watch. Nobody could have anticipated that. I had a smile on my face when I watched the Arsenal game. I just couldn't believe that this kid could go from nothing to scoring in the Premier League so fast.”

That’s Marcus Rashford, though: from nowhere to stardom in the blink of an eye.