Remembering Rashford's Man Utd debut and the real star on the night

 

"It feels like ages ago, I've been through so much since," Marcus Rashford told The Athletic when recalling the moment he made his Manchester United debut five years to the day. And he's right. Five years is a long time and he has certainly gone through it all, both on and off the pitch.

 

Who knows what would have happened had Anthony Martial not picked up an injury in the warm-up prior to United's Europa League clash with Danish side FC Midtjylland. With barely any time to warm-up let alone mentally prepare for your first-team debut at the biggest club in England, Rashford suddenly found himself thrust in to the starting XI rather than watching on from the bench.

 

This wasn't a dead-rubber tie, either. United remarkably lost the first leg 2-1 in Denmark despite taking the lead. Things didn't go to plan at Old Trafford right away, either. Pione Sisto, who tormented them in the first leg, gave the visitors a shock lead before the half hour mark after turning Daley Blind inside and out before sitting Michael Carrick down to roll home. Suddenly, the prospect of a humilating European exit was a very real prospect for Louis van Gaal's depleted side.

 

United did at least respond almost immediately, albeit through an own goal five minutes later, to draw level on the night. Yet they still trailed 3-2 on aggregate and had lost their away goal advantage. When Juan Mata missed a penalty to restore parity in the tie on the stroke of half-time, you started to wonder whether it was going to be one of those nights. The pressure of carrying a giant like United, particularly so soon into the post-Ferguson era, is a lot to deal with for any player, let alone one aged 18, on debut. Yet Rashford rose to the occasion.

 

 

More than an hour had been played without a second United goal only for Rashford to react quickest to Juan Mata's pull-back to send Old Trafford in to a frenzy. Even in that moment he had the presence of mind to sprint over to the corner and celebrate with current team-mate Dean Henderson, who was a fan in the crowd that night. Just over 10 minutes later and Rashford was at it again. This time as everyone pulled towards the ball, Rashford held his ground and found himself free at the back post to convert.

 

A dream double on debut, as United eventually ran out 5-1 winners on the night. Scoring on debut quickly became a theme for Rashford. After that he netted on his Premier League debut, Manchester Derby debut, League Cup debut, Champions League debut, England U21 debut and England debut. At the weekend he equalled David Beckham's tally of 83 career goals for the club and in the last 12 months has locked horns with the government. And won.

 

Rashford is not the first and certainly not the last to emerge from United's academy but you also get the sense his career path is not well-trodden, particuarly when you consider his initial debut came around in freak circumstances. Yet even a two-goal showing wasn't enough to secure the WhoScored Man of the Match award against FC Midtjylland. With seven shots, one key passes, two aerial duels won and as many dribbles completed, Rashford did garner a superb WhoScored rating of 9.43 but the real star on the night was Memphis Depay.

 

It's fair to say their careers have gone different ways since then. Memphis didn't end up living up to the No.7 shirt he carried on the night but he has since re-built his career in France with Lyon and will be in hot demand when his contract expires at the end of the season. Against FC Midtjylland, however, Memphis certainly showed why United supporters were so excited at the time of his arrival.

 

Andre Romer had the thankless task of marking Memphis that night and he ended up being sent off. After the match he revealed how tough an assignment it really was. "I've never been so close to crying after a match as I was today," he said. "Memphis is the best player I have ever faced. It was difficult to do anything about it when he plays like that. He is the best. He can do anything. He went inside, outside, turned me around and used his incredible pace to get past me."

 

Remembering Rashford's Man Utd debut and the real star on the night

 

As Romer was given his marching orders, probably glad he no longer had to face Memphis, the United No.7 finished his night's work with a perfect WhoScored 10 rating. Memphis forced the own goal with his cross, played the clever flick that led to United's first penalty and then won the second spot-kick himself. He capped a five-star performance with their fifth and final goal with a drilled effort from distance after skipping beyond a couple of challenges.

 

FC Midtjylland even tried to double up on him and still failed. He managed to nut-meg Romer with a scandalous rabona and then put it through his legs on two more occasions for good measure. He finished the game with 15 successful dribbles, from 19 attempted - no player has evern completed more in a European game since we started recording Opta data in 2009/10.

 

Despite all the flicks and tricks, you could still see Memphis wasn't quite ready for United. There were 10 shots overall, a lot of them speculative, hitting the target on just four occasions. At times he looked self-aware of the 'Memphis show' it was becoming. While he certainly created sheer panic among Midtjylland defenders, a lot did lead to nothing, with only two key passes registered. Nevertheless, it was a remarkable display and easily forgotten in a match that is since remembered as Rashford's dream debut.

Remembering Rashford's Man Utd debut and the real star on the night