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Redemption for Marcus Rashford began not with his goal at Brentford in midweek or the thrilling stoppage-time winner against West Ham here that sent Old Trafford into rapture.
In the difficult days following Manchester United’s last home game — the FA Cup win over Aston Villa which ended with the same 1-0 result, but a very different outcome for Rashford — he sought to rediscover his love of football.
That night against Villa, Rashford had looked like a lost soul after he was substituted to a smattering of boos loud enough to cut the Manchester-born player to the core.
Marcus Rashford is looking back to his best after scoring two goals for United this week
His next game wasn’t for United but an indoor kickabout with his mates down the road from Old Trafford, where they have played since he was a kid growing up in Wythenshawe.
For Rashford, it was a case of getting back to basics and remembering what took him to United in the first place.
Anyone who has witnessed the 24-year-old’s worrying loss of form and despondent moods this season could tell he wasn’t enjoying his football. This was Rashford’s way of pressing the reset button.
It paid off, too. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick may have been playing teenager Anthony Elanga in Rashford’s position wide on the left, but the England man has come off the bench in the last two games to score twice in the space of four days.
If the well-taken goal at Brentford merely confirmed United’s 3-1 victory, his close-range effort in the final
