The stats behind Rashford's resurgence

The statistics back it up - Marcus Rashford is currently enjoying one of his best periods as a Manchester United first-team player.

He has now scored in three successive Premier League games for the first time and has registered five goals and five assists in his last nine league appearances, after netting the winner in Sunday’s 1-0 victory at Tottenham.

It was also the 21-year-old’s fourth strike in six matches under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as he took his tally for the season to eight in all competitions this term.

Our no.10's best scoring run before this one was last season, when he netted five goals across five matches between August and September 2017.

Marcus also found the net in three consecutive fixtures in all competitions in September 2016 – against Watford, Northampton Town and Leicester City. Of course, his burst of four goals in his first two games – against Midtjylland and Arsenal – in February 2016 will never be forgotten.

Rashford has also demonstrated a knack of scoring in important games. Sunday's decisive effort - his first goal against Tottenham - means he’s now netted against all of the Reds' top-six rivals in the league. It was his first club strike at Wembley in seven United appearances at the national stadium.

He has also now struck 12 match-winning goals for United, with Liverpool, Manchester City and now Spurs among the teams on the receiving end.

WHAT ABOUT HIS WORK RATE?

Not only does his goal and assist tallies look impressive, Rashford's outstanding work-rate can also be highlighted by statistics. He made more sprints than any other team-mate in the wins over Huddersfield (24), Bournemouth (23) and Newcastle (23), while his 18 sprints against Cardiff City was second only to Ashley Young (26) in the United side.

Marcus has also produced the most sprints by a United player in any Premier League game this season with his 34 in December’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, and the second-most with 27 in last month’s defeat at Liverpool.

HOW MARCUS COMPARES TO OTHERS

Before Sunday’s win over Spurs, Ole expressed his excitement about Rashford’s potential and said he can become “a top, top player”.

“I think Marcus has been different class since I have come in,” Solskjaer also said recently. “His work rate is unbelievable. He closes down, chases, runs in behind. I think he’s got the motivation and inspiration himself to become the best he can be.”

Incidentally, Rashford’s goal at Tottenham was his 40th for United in 149 games – which is nine more than Cristiano Ronaldo had scored for the Reds after the same number of matches.

At Marcus’s current age, Spurs striker Harry Kane had only scored 25 goals in 101 club apps, compared to Rashford’s 40 in 148. In Premier League terms, Kane had only scored three in 18 games, compared to 24 in 97 for Marcus.

Even Lionel Messi had only netted 26 goals in 60 first-team games for Barcelona at the age of 21, after making his competitive debut for the Spanish giants in October 2004.

After 97 Premier League appearances, Rashford (24) has five more goals than Ronaldo (19) and only three fewer than Wayne Rooney (27). He also has the same number of assists as Ronaldo (14) and four more than Rooney (10).

As he looks set to make his 150th appearance for the club this weekend, Marcus will be looking to continue his rich vein of form and mark the milestone in style against Brighton at Old Trafford on Saturday.