Finally, the result matched the performance for Manchester United as they lost to Fulham 1-2 at Old Trafford in an insipid display.
Erik ten Hag’s tactical decisions played a huge role in the loss, arguably the biggest, but ultimately, players had the ability to influence the game on the pitch and failed to do so.
Marcus Rashford personified the frustrations around this United team as he crawled to another uninspiring, half-hearted display.
Rashford started up front in Rasmus Hojlund’s absence and got the full “Manchester United striker in 2023/24” experience.
In Ten Hag’s dysfunctional team, he fed off scraps but unlike Rasmus, who is always working hard and trying to make the most of whatever comes his way, just looked to have switched off.
He finished his 90 minutes with just 27 touches of the ball, completing just 13 passes and attempting only 16.
His lacklustre style of dribbling, which always causes frustration on the wing, looked even more pronounced in the middle as he lost possession of the ball nine times.
Unlike most creative players, the loss of possession wasn’t even in the process of trying to create chances.
It was just Rashford running aimlessly into a crowd of Fulham players without any idea of what to do afterwards.
To add to his attacking woes, his defensive commitment, forever in question and even more so this season, was under the scanner again.
Victor Lindelof, a natural centre-back, was left on an island against Fulham time and time again as Rashford’s tracking back efforts were limited to him throwing his hands in the air and looking disgruntled after a simple one-two bypassed him.
Ultimately, the manager will pay the price for such performances and for this game, the majority of the blame lies on Ten Hag too.
But Rashford is increasingly starting to embody everything that is wrong with the modern Manchester United- a lack of control, questions over motivation, and limited scope of talent.
