Erik ten Hag was confident Marcus Rashford would have a goal-rich season after the striker ended his six-month goalless streak on Saturday and faced criticism from his own fans.
Rashford went 13 games without a goal before scoring in the 41st minute of Manchester United's 3-0 Premier League win over newly promoted Southampton. It was his first goal since the 2-0 victory over Everton on March 9.
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Ten Hag had appeared questionable about why he put Rashford in the starting line-up, but before Saturday's game he said the 26-year-old only needed a goal or an assist to “take off”.
Ten Hag can only hope that the positive afternoon will indeed open the floodgates for his striker, who scored just eight goals in all competitions last season after scoring 30 goals in the 2022/23 season, Ten Hag's debut season in Manchester.
“It's very important,” said the manager after Saturday's win, which gave United six points from four Premier League games.
“Every striker wants to be on the scoresheet. If the first one is in, more will come. Once a striker was talking about a ketchup bottle – if he is in, more will come.”
Marcus Rashford opened his Premier League scoring against Southampton. Zohaib Alam – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images
Individual training sessions during the recent international break have paid off for striker Rashford.
He was left out of England's squad for Euro 2024 and was not called up for the victories over Finland and the Republic of Ireland.
After coming under criticism for his slow start to the season, he stayed in Manchester during the break to work with RH Elite Coaching, spending much of the time on final drills.
In the 41st minute on Saturday, Rashford was left unmarked at United's short corner and shot the ball diagonally into the far corner.
New signing Matthijs de Ligt and Alejandro Garnacho scored the other goals for United, while goalkeeper André Onana saved Cameron Archer's penalty that proved the turning point.
Ten Hag's men have no time to rest on the laurels of their much-needed win as they host Barnsley in the League Cup on Tuesday.
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