Manchester United returned to winning ways against Southampton on Saturday as Marcus Rashford got back among the goals.

It was a must-win game for Manchester United this Saturday and Erik ten Hag’s side produced the goods in a very comfortable afternoon on the south coast.

Southampton came out of the gates fast and won a penalty after Diogo Dalot mistimed his tackle. Andre Onana saved his blushes and the rest is history.

Manchester United took the lead not long after through Matthijs de Ligt – who was superb – before Marcus Rashford doubled the advantage not long after from outside the box.

The 3-0 win was completed in added time, with substitute Alejandro Garnacho scoring another goal off the bench.

It was a solid win, but for Rashford it will have been so much more than that – with his display warranting praise from Erik ten Hag.

Marcus Rashford sends message after scoring first goal in 12 games

The fantastic goal could kick-start Rashford’s campaign and reignite his career which had become stagnant over the past year.

After scoring in the game, Rashford took to Instagram with a message which showcased how happy he is to finally get off the mark this season.

Rashford wrote: “Three points. First goal of the season. Smiles for me and Grayson.”

Grayson of course is the young fan that Rashford promised to dedicate his next goal to.

In the replies to this post, Rashford received responses from several teammates and former teammates.

Jesse Lingard was among them, commenting: “Love it you”, followed by a heart emoji – demonstrating the love is still there between the two who once had the biggest bromance at United.

Rashford also received a reply from Joshua Zirkzee, who wrote: “Told youuuu”. Mystic Zirkzee must have predicted the goal by Rashford.

Bruno Fernandes responded: “Hair back = goals back”, a cheeky comment regarding the No.10’s new haircut.

Manchester United No.10 is finding his feet

This may just be one goal, but Rashford deserves huge praise for his performance against Southampton, which really was just the latest encouraging display after he created three chances against Liverpool.

The past year has been tricky for Rashford and he has faced troubles both on and off the pitch which even saw his United future in doubt during the summer.

After his poor 2023/24 though, this season already is showing signs that it will be better and with this latest performance, he likely keeps himself above Garnacho on the starting list.

This is as the Argentine has established himself as having a pretty lethal impact off the bench for United, while Garnacho is still less effective from the start.

But all signs suggest Rashford is finding his feet finally and this will be a welcome fact for Ten Hag.

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