Marcus Rashford looked frustrated - before playing the key role in Aston Villa's win
Marcus Rashford looked frustrated - before playing the key role in Aston Villa's win
For a quarter of an hour at the start of this contest, Marcus Rashford cut the sort of frustrated figure that we have all become accustomed to in recent times.
The sort of figure whose shoulders drop when one or two passes don’t come his way. But while Rashford’s body language is not always the best, he has plenty of attributes that say a lot of positive things about his game.
And one of the most valuable is pace. Raw speed. Amid the intricacies of the modern game, it is a basic quality that remains invaluable.
Tactics are cyclical, of course, and there appears to be pockets of coaching thought that once again believe possession football to be overrated. Exhibit A in the evidence to support that theory can be found on the banks of the River Trent.
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And when Emi Martinez collected the ball in the 16th minute, Aston Villa’s possession statistic was below 30 percent. And it felt like less.
One quick-thinking sprint from Rashford and one long ball from Martinez later and this tie was on its way to being settled in Villa’s favour. There’s nothing heinously wrong about going direct, and Rashford made up his goalkeeper’s mind with a smart dash behind right-back Kyriani Sabbe.
The Martinez pass was nicely judged and rather than accept he had been caught napping by Rashford and let the Villa attacker have a crack at goal, Sabbe made contact and referee Daniel Siebert had no choice other than to dismiss the Club Brugge full-back.
And at that point, the tough challenge the Belgians had faced became mountainous.
Kyriani Sabbe brought down Rashford, before the Club Brugge defender was sent off
Kyriani Sabbe brought down Rashford, before the Club Brugge defender was sent off
Which, for the game as any kind of compelling spectacle, was a bit of a shame, as it would have been interesting to see how Villa would have reacted if Club Brugge had turned their early dominance into an early goal.
Instead, the stylish Belgians’ hopes of an unlikely comeback were, essentially, ended by the two things we all know Rashford still has.
Speed of mind and speed of body, both on show in his assist for Marco Asensio’s second and Villa’s third.
Sure, he can still look frustrated and can still frustrate … but Rashford can still be a game-changer.
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