Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged Marcus Rashford to emulate former Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring more goals from inside the penalty area.
Rashford scored perhaps the most crucial goal of his career on Wednesday as his late penalty secured a remarkable second-leg comeback for United against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16.
Despite Rashford having excelled since Solskjaer took charge at Old Trafford in December, the United caretaker boss wants the 21-year-old to develop his game by paying attention to the likes of Ronaldo, and teammate Romelu Lukaku.
“I keep battering him with that he also should score as many goals as Rom (Lukaku),” Solskjaer said.
“You should always get those simple tap ins, finishes, like Rom’s scored the last few games.
“Rashy’s goals sometimes are worldies and he does have a sensational strike of the ball but you see the change in Cristiano’s goals from when he was young to now, he scores more from inside the box and that’s what Rashy has to improve as well.”
Rashford has scored six goals in 11 Premier League appearances since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho and has featured in all but one game in all competitions under the Norwegian.
United have gone unbeaten in the Premier League under Solskjaer, enabling them to rise into fourth place above Chelsea and Arsenal, who they face in what could be a decisive clash on Sunday,
Having come through United’s academy to make his first-team debut in 2016, Rashford has already made 159 appearances for the club, scoring 43 goals.
“We all know all the legends we’ve had at this club that have stayed so long and they’ve been one-club players and we hope that Rashy is going to be one of them,” Solskjaer said. It’s both up to him and us of course.
“If he keeps producing he’ll stay in the team and that’s up to him to stay in the team.”
KHADIJAH YAKUBU AJIYA
