Jose Mourinho said that substitute and match-winner Marcus Rashford gave Manchester United a “diversity” in their football during their 1-0 win against Hull City and predicted that the 18-year-old will play “a lot of matches for sure.”
Rashford scored in the second minute of added time at the end of the game, 20 minutes after coming off the bench, to seal victory. He had looked likely before then, causing problems to Hull with his pace.
Speaking in his news conference after Saturday’s win, Mourinho said: “When we brought the kid to the game, it gave us a diversity of football. We started playing a different way. Of course we had a bit of luck at the end.
“He’s very good. I knew that last season. Working with him every day, I think the same.
“Tonight he came on and gave us diversity in our football. He is different to [Wayne] Rooney and different to Zlatan [Ibrahimovic].”
Rashford has been named in the England under-21 squad, rather than the seniors, for the forthcoming international break. The next match for United is at home on Sept. 10 against Manchester City, whom the striker scored the winner against in a 1-0 triumph the last time the clubs met on March 20.
When asked about the player’s prospects of featuring in that one, Mourinho said: “He can play, but he can be on the bench. I don’t know. I have to analyse.
“The important thing is that he is working very well. He is 18 years old, our number one player [Ibrahimovic] is also an amazing player. The kid is going to play a lot of matches for sure.”
The United manager added that he would not be influenced by one moment, such as Rashford’s winner against Hull, when making his team selection.
The Portuguese said: “It’s not the match-winner that makes me change my mind. It is the same as when a player makes a mistake and you lose because of it.”
When asked about the prospect of Ibrahimovic and Rashford playing together, Mourinho indicated that he feels that could leave United exposed, saying: “To play that way, we have to be very dominant.”
United had made hard work of the match against Hull, especially in the first half, but the pressure on the home team mounted as the game went on and then the late blow followed.
Mourinho said: “I said to the players at half-time that, in training on Wednesday, they were more intense than in the first half today. I said to them ‘give me that.'”
The manager also said in his news conference that Marouane Fellaini has picked up a back injury, which looks “bad.”
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