Ronaldo was 3 years younger when he learned how to finish, and by Rashford’s age was precise.
And we don’t know Rashford can be a 20 goal a season player, he’s done it exactly once and that was when he took a lot of penalties
10
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 56
- Goals
- 30
- Assists
- 9
- Yellow cards
- 2
- Status
Ronaldo was 3 years younger when he learned how to finish, and by Rashford’s age was precise.
And we don’t know Rashford can be a 20 goal a season player, he’s done it exactly once and that was when he took a lot of penalties
He was fantastic today
Watched lots of him. He’s an elite mover and great player. Still a bad finisher though. Not sure if this is actually every shot he had last year but still gives a fairly clear picture of his finishing:
One of his better performances for us as a CF I thought. Just needs to let the goal come to him instead of trying to force it.
The first one he missed is the problem. He can’t play striker for us if we want to win titles, that’s clear. Winger sure, probably. Sole CF? Not a chance.
Good performance overall.
Good performance overall.
Strange how his finishing has deserted him. He was clinical when he broke through.
He isn't a striker but he can create havoc when playing in the wing. He can be deployed as a striker when we have lot of space to exploit.
He would start ahead of Sancho on the left. Getting better !!
He would start ahead of Sancho on the left. Getting better !!
He was mostly good, there was one cross by Fred that he gets the header technique completely wrong. That is what worries me sometimes if he's to be a CF in a game with less chances
His finishing is just too erratic to be relied upon by any top side. That said his overall play has improved massively, especially off the ball.
Imo it's just a dry spell. Most forwards have it sometime even the best. But at least he's getting the shots if he can keep what he's been doing lately the goals will eventually come I'm sure of that. Like someone said scoring is like squeezing a lemon. It's hard at first but when the juice comes out it comes all out.
He was great with all his work rate and pressing but he still is every bit a left winger.
If only we had a proper number 9 playing consistently this season, we would be so much higher on the pitch
If only we had a proper number 9 playing consistently this season, we would be so much higher on the pitch
I’d wonder how he would have grown as a player if he was kept as a #9 after breaking through.
Hopefully he can continue this effort and performances through the whole season and then he deserves an apology from the fans PR. 
He would have a few more goals this season if he switched up and not choose to go for power for every shot. He has shown before that he can finish so I'm not sure why he's choosing to only power his shots in.
To be fair, it's only the first chance I think he should have done better with... maybe the last one too I guess, but that save from Lloris was top drawer.
I just don't get why he always goes hard and low. I know that's textbook. However, being a power finisher doesn't always mean going for that. Rashford should look at clips of Alan Shearer and master the art of rifling the ball into the roof of the net.
Goals - xG = +0.07 this season (slightly more goals than xG).
Just wanted to drop that in there for people complaining about finishing. He's a decent finisher, even guys like Ronaldo don't outperform their xG significantly.
There are ways to dice that data, you can compare different situations like 1v1s, long range, angled finishes etc. and he might be weaker in some areas than others.
Just wanted to drop that in there for people complaining about finishing. He's a decent finisher, even guys like Ronaldo don't outperform their xG significantly.
There are ways to dice that data, you can compare different situations like 1v1s, long range, angled finishes etc. and he might be weaker in some areas than others.
I'm loving him jumping for the ball and challenging for headers. Especially the flick one because they don't have to be as clean. Can still improve the heading technique a lot but good sign of improvement. Similar to de gea we are seeing key weaknesses being worked on at last.
I didn't watch last 2 games but in Spurs game he should have scored at least couple of goals, minimum one. He was poor infront of goal but good part is he created them by taking on players. His overall game was good as a CF, which is important too.
Well... uhm it's not THAT easy mate. He'll be shooting the poor birds at OT if he tries that. Some has it some just doesn't.
He used to have a quite accurate low shot at the far corner. But atm his confidence must be very low after all the chances he missed in the last three matches that's why he didn't aim for the low corner as usual but simple went for power. Anyway he's still our current record scorer this season I think.
His body and on field behaviours have been improved a lot lately. He looks fast, agile and hard working again. His decisions are generally much better too. Yesterday he might very well got 3 goals and at least two assists (Bruno offside and pass to McT cut off). If he can keeps this the goals and assists gonna come for sure.
It was not a snap shot, he had all the time in the world to side foot it, instead of blasting it.
Nah as was painfully highlighted last season when Ralf insisted on playing him off the right he's abysmal off the right wing. He isn't a great striker but he can do a job there.
Came here to say the same thing. Couldn’t believe how many headers he won last night. And Spurs’ centre backs are usually dominant in the air.
A better game, he's a coachable player and I've got hope for him.
He will settle in and start banging goals. He's in peak form now, you don't get many faster/more agile player than current Rashford. Just needs to look for corners instead of going for power. He gets into good scoring positions with his movement and little faints what is the most important part of the game for a striker.
He’s done it exactly twice actually. Two seasons running before the shit show of last season including after Bruno arrived and took over the penalties. He’s never going to be as good as Ronaldo but he doesn’t need to be to be a good goalscorer.
I'd actually prefer Rashford to play well and miss a some chances. It suggests the goals will come back at some point. Far too frequently over the last 18 months or so he would play poorly but mask the performances with a goal or assist.
Replace rashford with haaland in the previous two games and haaland walks away with a hattrick in both games.
To not even score once is scandalous.
To not even score once is scandalous.
Yes i agree. In his best condition he may be still be slightly predictable and wasteful but he’s really explosive and you can see we really need that while our attack is so pedestrian. Hopefully last night spells the end of Ronadlo as a starter.
His finishing leaves a lot on the table but his pressing was ridiculously effective. He led from the front there.
No one, except for Messi, consistently outperforms his xG over a prolonged period of time. There are many reasons as to why this occurs but they are neither here nor there in the context of this thread.
I also believe he's not a bad finisher. The way he finds the corner while running with the ball at full speed is an absolute joy to watch. These were not easy chances, yesterday, no matter what people say. Almost in all of them, he has a single corner to aim at. He doesn't mask the shot, either, when he's afforded a short window of opportunity to shoot. He places his body very early for the shot. The keeper knows where the ball is going, the defenders, too, as well as the 70000 spectators in the stadium. That's probably why he went for power. The header against Newcastle doesn't have to do with his heading ability (which is questionable), it's a difficult goal to score to begin with.
He's rejuvenated and lively, which is good for the team. He was a combined npxG + xA of 0.55, which means that he should either be scoring or assisting from open play in every other game. Which is a very good return for the player and the team, if he can keep it up. The team works to release early balls he can chase into space, and he also feels confident and more alert to what is happening around him.
The xG is a bit concerning though. Not because he's not over performing it, but because it's generally low. Most models tell us that he shouldn't have had more than the 3 league goals he has scored. But that's an overarching problem, not one that has to do solely with Rashford and his finishing. You could see it yesterday, too. When you make Spurs look like a pub team, you shouldn't need a wicked deflection and rebound from outside the box to win the game.
I liked his effort, but its clear to me that he isnt a striker. Lacks composure, one of those players who does better when they have less time to think. Shouldve had a couple of goals yesterday realistically.
Yup he had a few chances to score yesterday and they were moderately high xG chances. I am happy to put that down to good goalkeeping / bad luck. Think it happens to the best of players and as long as he doesn't consistently under perform xG I'm not too worried.
Yup, I agree. I've been harping on about how our xG was something like the 10th in the league so people shouldn't get too carried away by the Pool / Arsenal performances but there were many caveats. Fixtures were really bad, New players are slowly ramping up (Case, Antony), existing players are understanding the system better so the xG will improve. Media outlets like TIFO have already jumped the gun in calling us not very creative etc. without acknowledging any of the other circumstances - happy to clickbait using small sample sizes.
We've also changed tactics significantly after the Brentford thrashing. One thing to call out there is that we sat deep and countered after getting a goal in most games after that (Southampton, Leicester and I think even Arsenal and Everton). We've only recently begun changing that with Newcastle, Omonia and Spurs. They were significantly improved performances when compared to games earlier on in the season and more in line with how Ten Hag wants us to play.
Fully expect Rashford's xG to improve.
I agree, Lloris did very well to stop all 3 chances.
I hope he spoke to Thierry Henry after the game last night, he could give him some valuable goal scoring tips when he's in the situations he was in last night. His first chance he should have put away, he had loads of time, the other two he created himself, and the saves by Loris were outstanding.
He should of had a couple last night, Lloris did well to stop them, but still he made it easier for Lloris than was needed; a bit further to either side and they're unstoppable goals.
He always goes for power, doesn't matter the distance between him and the goal.
Definitely back to his best physically, which is great to see. Same old finishing issues though. Wonder if it’ll ever click.
Said the exact same thing about his striking for at least the last 2 seasons.
but to be honest in the last few games(especially against Omonia) I started to notice that he tried to finesse and bend the ball to the far corner.
I don't have a problem with him striking the ball hard and with power but every time he does this it looks like he's just shooting without any logic or aiming behind it.
Even the chance yesterday in 73 minute he shot the ball pretty near to Lloris and gave him a chance to save it instead of target the ball away from him.
He can just take an example from Bruno yesterday - took the shot from just standing and targeting the ball to the "corner" flags.
but to be honest in the last few games(especially against Omonia) I started to notice that he tried to finesse and bend the ball to the far corner.
I don't have a problem with him striking the ball hard and with power but every time he does this it looks like he's just shooting without any logic or aiming behind it.
Even the chance yesterday in 73 minute he shot the ball pretty near to Lloris and gave him a chance to save it instead of target the ball away from him.
He can just take an example from Bruno yesterday - took the shot from just standing and targeting the ball to the "corner" flags.
It clicks enough for him to be able to be a 20 goals a season player anyway, so that's good enough for me.
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