Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s suspension for the Arsenal game means Rashford may be asked by José Mourinho to play in the role where he made a huge impact last season, including two goals against Arsène Wenger’s sideMarcus Rashford’s big audition for José Mourinho’s Manchester United will come against Arsenal on Saturday if he is handed the No9 berth. Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s one-game suspension means a vacancy opens up at centre-forward in a major match for the first time since Mourinho took over and made the Swede his totem signing.It was against Arsenal that Rashford got his first Premier League goals last February, scoring twice after he had done the same on his debut against Midtjylland three days earlier, and he will hope to...
Ibrahimovic is failing not only by his own standards but relative to the leading strikers at the top title contenders and José Mourinho may benefit from using Marcus Rashford in the central attacking roleIn an age of single-striker systems Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Premier League goal drought may have already ended Manchester United’s title hopes. This is the stark truth of the one-up-top ploy adopted by those with championship pretensions: the centre-forward has to deliver in most games.Ibrahimovic is not doing so. He last scored in the league five weeks ago and José Mourinho’s side are eight points from the summit after 10 matches. Related: David Squires on … José Mourinho's Manchester hotel woes Continue reading...
The Swedish striker was error prone in the first half but his improvement helped put Manchester City out of the EFL CupThe selection said it all. Ordering room service to a suite at the five-star Lowry Hotel may constitute a bit of a disaster for José Mourinho but losing to Manchester City for the second time in seven weeks at Old Trafford, and a weakened City at that, would have left the United manager fearing the walls were closing in. It was not a risk he was prepared to accept.Both managers were in urgent need of victory – Pep Guardiola to avoid the longest winless run of his illustrious managerial career and Mourinho to respond to growing doubts over his...