Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund both left Manchester United on loan in the summer
Former Tottenham and Leicester City forward Gary Lineker
Former Tottenham and Leicester City forward Gary Lineker(Image: Getty Images)
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Gary Lineker has waxed lyrical about Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund after both impressed in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Rashford, 27, continued his excellent recent form with an assist for Barcelona against Paris Saint-Germain. The England international fed a precise pass through to ex-Manchester City man Ferran Torres, who made no mistake and slotted the ball beyond the PSG goalkeeper.
After a slow start to life in the Catalan region, Rashford has now scored twice and provided five assists in his last six appearances for Hansi Flick's side.
Reflecting on Rashford's start to life at Barcelona, Lineker admitted it has been "encouraging" to see him starting matches for his new club. He told the Rest Is Football podcast: "I think Marcus has started well at Barcelona. He's getting a lot of football. People were saying, 'he's not going to get a game, he's–.'
"Obviously you're always going to get little knocks and injuries to certain players, and he seems to be rotating quite a lot, but Marcus has started a lot of games in the Champions League. Of the three goals that Barcelona have scored, he scored two of them and assisted the other one– really good pass.
"Good start, I think it’s encouraging. You can see they really like him.
"Even at the weekend– I mean his assist at the weekend was in the league, it was a corner, but all the players ran to him. It’s a really good sign. You need that. I’m pleased."
As for Hojlund, he scored a brace for Napoli during their 2-1 win against Sporting CP. The Dane scored his first after getting on the end of a splendid pass from Kevin De Bruyne before tucking past the goalkeeper.
De Bruyne then grabbed yet another assist as his cross was headed home by Hojlund for his second of the game, capping off a successful night for Antonio Conte's side.
Hojlund has found the net three times in five appearances for Napoli since his move from United, with his other goal coming on his debut against Fiorentina.
"I know De Bruyne was brilliant in the game as well yesterday, but Rasmus Hojlund scored two goals," Lineker added. "Everybody who is leaving Manchester United seems to be doing really well. But it just shows you, doesn’t it?"
Both Rashford and Hojlund left United on loan in the summer, with Antony and Jadon Sancho among the others to quit the Reds after Ruben Amorim made it clear they were not in his plans.
Meanwhile, United are back in action when they host Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. The Reds are looking to bounce back following last weekend's 3-1 defeat against Brentford.
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