Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Thierry Henry aids Ten Hag by revealing how Man Utd star can reach top level with one change

Marcus Rashford Jadon Sancho Man Utd April 2022

Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho of Man Utd

Premier League legend Thierry Henry has done Erik ten Hag’s job for him by explaining what Marcus Rashford needs to do to become more efficient in front of goal.

Rashford was in from the start as Manchester United took on Tottenham at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening. This saw Ten Hag select the Englishman ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, which left the veteran angry.

Rashford, along with Bruno Fernandes and Antony, caused the Tottenham defence all sorts of problems.

He had several good chances but was thwarted by Spurs captain Hugo Lloris each time.

Rashford’s best opportunity for Manchester United came in the 74th minute. He played a nice one-two with Fernandes before cutting inside on England team-mate Eric Dier in the box.

The forward was just eight or nine yards out when he smashed a shot at goal on his right foot. However, he didn’t hit it far enough away from Lloris and the Frenchman was able to tip the ball out for a corner.

Man Utd picked up three points on the day thanks to goals from Fred and Fernandes. It could be argued Rashford was unlucky not to join them on the scoresheet as he was kept out by a brilliant Lloris.

On the other side of the argument, though, is the fact a different striker such as Ronaldo would have probably buried at least one of those chances.

Thierry Henry details how Man Utd attacker can improve

Former Arsenal star Henry was on Amazon Prime’s coverage of the match. He urged Rashford to give the keeper the eyes in future and not just go for power.

“He could have done better,” Henry said (via the Manchester Evening News). “This is what I say when this ball is coming to you, have a look at the goalkeeper to freeze him.

“Strikers don’t do that often, the ball is coming to you, you know it, you have to look at the goalkeeper to freeze him and he never looked.

“What you do normally, he just fires low and across. Power is not always the answer.”

Henry added: “You open the ball up, just finish it. Place it down here. Why hard? Side foot, goal, see you later.

“It was right at him [the keeper]. But great save from Hugo [Lloris].”

At that point, fellow pundit and former Man Utd left-back Patrice Evra interjected by saying: “Not everyone has your brain Henry.”

Henry replied: “I know, but you have one – use it.”

Henry is the perfect person for Rashford to get advice from. He hit an incredible 228 goals in 376 matches for Arsenal.

Rashford did seem to be snatching at his chances against Spurs. He looks desperate to add to his five goals for the season and is opting for power when he gets a sight at goal.

As Henry says, the 24-year-old should probably relax a bit and instead look to place the ball in the corner. This is exactly what Fernandes did from outside the box for Man Utd’s second goal.

Rashford is highly likely to start at centre-forward when Man Utd come up against Chelsea this weekend. That’s because Ronaldo has been dropped from the squad for the match.

Meanwhile, a Man Utd regular is reportedly being offered to some of Europe’s biggest and wealthiest clubs ahead of next summer.