A year to the day after Marcus Rashford came off with Manchester United 1-0 up in a cup tie at Old Trafford, he came off the bench with United leading 1-0 in a cup tie at Old Trafford. The FA Cup meeting with Aston Villa in January 2022 remained 1-0; it was Rashford’s 11th game without a goal and, as it transpired, it was not even his longest drought of the season. He ended it without scoring in his final 15 appearances.
All of which feels like a very different time now. The worst season of Rashford’s career may have given way to the best. Such judgments are not made on the basis of home matches against mid-table League One sides, of course. Yet it was entirely typical of the rejuvenated Rashford that he did not merely see out victory over Charlton; he transformed it. Erik ten Hag had threatened to halt the Mancunian’s scoring sequence by only granting him half an hour; instead Rashford enhanced it. He had five goals in five games since the World Cup. Two more came in a cameo, each taken with the confidence of a man who can do no wrong.
