Micah Richards and Alan Shearer were full of praise for Marcus Rashford following his two-goal display in Aston Villa’s 3-0 win over Preston in the FA Cup quarter-final, hailing the England international as a ‘totally different’ player under Unai Emery.
Rashford delivered another strong performance for the Villans in their convincing win on Sunday afternoon, with his and Jacob Ramsey’s goals helping Emery’s side reach the semi-finals for the first time since the 2014/15 campaign.
The 27-year-old, who joined Villa on loan from Manchester United in January, found the back of the net for the first time in a claret and blue shirt this weekend, ending a four-month goal drought since his last strike against Everton at Old Trafford in December.
Marcus Rashford Shines in FA Cup Win
‘Villa and Emery are just excellent’
Aston Villa Marcus Rashford-1
Richards, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, hailed Rashford’s performance in Villa’s win over Preston and pointed to the 27-year-old’s body language:
“Villa and Emery are just excellent. I've said it all season. They’re three points off fifth place.
“Tactics in the game, Kamara and Tielemans in midfield just absolutely running it. Asensio played more of a number ten, Morgan Rogers actually played sort of from the right, Ramsey on the left, and Rashford up front.
“But Rashford was very good today, watching him live, and we were having a little bit of a debate on BBC after the game, but his whole stature, his whole body language…
“And I hate saying body language, because certain players have body language that looks like they don't want to run.
“But Marcus is one of those players who comes alive when they've got the ball on the counter-attack. So sometimes, when he's not running around and pressing, it can look bad.”
Shearer, meanwhile, praised the 27-year-old as a ‘totally different’ player compared to his time at Man United, where he had a falling out with manager Ruben Amorim before sealing his January move to Villa Park.
Rashford made his 10th appearance for Villa on Sunday and now has six goal contributions in total, including four assists.
His resurgence in the West Midlands led to Thomas Tuchel recalling him to the England squad for March’s international break, where he started in both wins over Albania and Latvia.
Rashford had been absent from England duty for almost 12 months prior to that.
Marcus Rashford's Aston Villa Stats (2024/25)
Games
Goals
Assists
Minutes played
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Statistics courtesy ofFbrefandTransfermarkt. Correct as of 31 -03-25.