After a month where he netted two goals and two assists in as many games, Marcus Rashford was voted the Premier League Player of the Month for September.
Rashford netted twice in a 3-1 win at Old Trafford, where Manchester United ended Arsenal’s five-game unbeaten run.
Speaking to MUTV upon winning the award, Rashford said: “It’s a good feeling. For me, we didn’t start the season so strongly so to get four wins on the bounce is really good. The challenge now for us all is to maintain that and keep winning games.”
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One of Rashford’s two assists came in the game against the Gunners, with the other coming in a 1-0 away win vs Leicester City, and the forward believes United’s four-game winning run in the league has been a collective effort.
He said: “It’s a nice feeling [to win] and I think everyone’s chipped in. The four wins have been good team performances and the important thing for me is we’ve got better as times gone on so hopefully, we can carry on that trend and keep improving.”
At the club, Rashford isn’t the only one who picked up an award on Friday.
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Manager Erik ten Hag won the Premier League Manager of the Month award having overseen a major turnaround after back-to-back defeats early in the season to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford and Rashford is thoroughly enjoying his time under Ten Hag.
“It’s still fairly new with the manager. We’ve got much better doing things he wants us to do but there’s still a lot of steps that we need to take. We’re all looking forward to just working hard and doing that together,” said Rashford.
After such an enjoyable month, the standout for the Englishman was assisting new teammate Antony.
On providing the Brazilian with his debut goal, Rashford said: “I think that’s a massive moment and it gives us strength and courage, seeing him come into the team and score a goal straight away is massively important and I think it also helps him settle in.
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“It’s a new club with new surroundings for him, scoring goals is the best way to help that. I’m very happy he scored that goal, and we went on to win that game.”
The Player of the Month award is one Rashford has previously won, with his first coming in January 2019 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer however, Rashford feels much sharper this time round.
“I probably feel better now,” he told MUTV.
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He continued: “I remember in January 2019; I had a lot of injuries and I wasn’t actually feeling that great in that period. Now I feel much better, much stronger and more capable.”
Under Solskjaer, although Rashford had enjoyed his best goal-scoring seasons, the United No.10 did often risk himself playing through injuries.
Regarding Ten Hag, Rashford said: “[It’s] a fresh start and something to work towards. For me, it’s done wonders and I’m very happy he’s [Ten Hag] here and I’m just happy his desire is to just improve everyone. It’s an exciting feeling to be working towards a big end goal.
“Hopefully we can keep taking steps in the right direction, keep picking up points and progressing in the tournaments.”
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Next up for the Reds is the Manchester derby at the Etihad against a side Rashford has scored against four times in his career.
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Antony
Aadam Haladh