Erik ten Hag hails 'unstoppable' Man Utd player after Nottingham Forest win
By Chris Smith
Erik ten Hag has heaped praise on the 'unstoppable' Marcus Rashford following Manchester United's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils have taken a commanding lead in their Carabao Cup semi-final clash, with goals from Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes delivering the goods at the City Ground.
It was Rashford who opened the scoring after just six minutes, showing off the confidence his excellent form has inspired to beat a couple of Forest defenders before firing past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey in emphatic fashion.
Rashford now has 10 goals and two assists in 10 appearances for United across all competitions since returning from the World Cup with England, where he also netted three times in five outings.
“There are more players who are playing really well but I am happy with Marcus, his performance and his development,” Ten Hag said after the match.
“From the start of the season, he is growing and keeps doing that. We have to keep his process going and if he is in that mood and spirit, I think he is unstoppable.
“It is up to the team to get him in the right positions. In possession, we have a plan, [but it is up to some players like] like Rashy, Bruno and Christian Eriksen to be creative in the final third and do something no one expects, some crazy stuff.”
Wout Weghorst scores 'important' first Man Utd goal
Wednesday also turned out to be a great night for Rashford's attacking counterpart, Wout Weghorst.
The Dutch striker has shown promising signs since his shock arrival on loan from Burnley but was still awaiting his first goal in a red shirt after firing blanks against Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
That all changed on Wednesday when Weghorst pounced first to the rebound after Hennessy had denied a dipping shot from Brazilian winger Antony - the 30-year-old applying an excellent finish with the outside of his boot just before half-time.
For Weghorst, it was a vital step to add goals to his positive performances.
"It's important for him and for his confidence that he scored that goal," Ten Hag said of his fellow countryman. "He did a great job at Crystal Palace and Arsenal with his pressing, targets and movements.
"He was part of Bruno's goal at Palace because he makes the right movement to the front post. He was part of Marcus' goal at Arsenal because he dragged the centre-half away.
"But strikers are there to score goals and when they don't score they're not happy."
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette discuss Man Utd's interest in Dusan Vlahovic, the goakeeping situation involving David de Gea and David Raya & more! If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!