Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Marcus Rashford didn’t suffer any notable knocks during Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Burton Albion in the League Cup despite seeing the teenager hobble down the tunnel after being substituted.
The teenager set the tone for what was a dominant performance after just four minutes, calmly lifting the ball over keeper Connor Ripley with just four minutes on the clock following Jesse Lingard’s layoff. And he was by no means done there. 13 minutes later, with Burton sitting deep to avoid being exploited in behind, Rashford had all the time in the world to pick up the ball, turn smartly, and lash a sumptuous drive into the bottom corner via the post.
This was his first chance to feature at No.9 since Romelu Lukaku’s arrival from Everton over the summer and he was an effervescent force, laying the ball to Anthony Martial on the hour mark for United’s four. But he appeared to suffer a niggle in the process and was substituted for Scott McTominay and went straight down the tunnel, promoting concerns over whether Mourinho would lose another important player after Paul Pogba was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
But the 54-year-old, whilst reflecting on another pleasing performance, confirmed that Rashford escaped from the encounter injury free and will be available against Southampton.
“Professional performance,” he said. “We played seriously, we gave no chance to the opponent, when you arrive at 3-0 at half-time it was time for us to slow down a bit, to control the game, to control the result and also I think they were also fighting for a result that could give some dignity and not to lose for many.
“I think Nigel made it clear that the match next weekend is more important for them, he made a few changes.
“But no injuries, no cards, we won which was our desire and they lost for a result with dignity and had a positive performance, so I think everybody is happy.”
