Rosenborg 1 Man Utd 0: Ten Hag sent crashing back down to earth as Red Devils defeated in pre-season friendly
HOW THE mighty have fallen.
On the day England’s battling Three Lions landed back from a heartbreaking Euros final defeat, Marcus Rashford was wandering out onto the Turf of the Lerkendal Stadium.
That’s in Trondheim, Norway, where Manchester United were taking part in a pre-season friendly.
A penny for his thoughts having watched his former England teammates over the past few weeks hold the nation’s attention and get to another final.
Last time the competition reached that stage Rashford was relied upon to take a spot kick in the shootout against Italy at Wembley, only to miss as England fell short. But he was part of it all.
He scored three in the last World Cup as Gareth Southgate guided the side to the quarter-finals. He was very much part of it all.
In fact he had been pretty much part of the story from the start including that World Cup journey to the last four in 2018.
You don’t earn 60 caps and score 17 goals without being part of it all.
Not now, at a time when at 26-years-old he should be at his peak.
Not since last March in fact and the 1-0 defeat at home to Brazil.
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Last season for United did for that, which is why instead of returning home with the England squad he was playing to a backdrop of near silence in a mind numbing pre-season game.
Just the first-half mind you, wide left and then right.
He brought one of the few first-half cheers for United at least with a chestdown and nutmeg before he was tackled.
That apart there was little else before he was subbed with the rest of the ten outfield players at the break.
The performance was indicative of many from Rashford last season, although it is obviously unfair to draw any conclusions from this.
But he really needs to do something in this pre-season, which goes to the USA next week after a match against Rangers at Hampden next Saturday.
In 2022-23 he posted season best figures of 30 goals, then it all went, as it can so quickly in football if a young player loses focus.
He fell out with the manager and out of the team.
Off field nights out coupled with on field performances at odds with his previous campaign saw the slide for club and country.
It was just an injury for Mason Mount that saw him left out as he struggled for games last season.
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He too had been part of it all with Southgate. Not anymore, which is why he was out in Trondheim too and Casemiro, whose time with United has been so poor of late that Brazil had no need for him in the Copa America either.
Perhaps the surroundings and standard of this game helped to bring it home, dare I say, even more to these senior players.
Pre-seasons can be dull and this was dull as a very much second string squad travelled.
Rosenborg are 15 games into their new season which told as they dominated, even with their second-half changes too.
The frame of the goal and man of the match goalkeeper Radek Vitek, a 20-year-old who spent last season on loan at Accrington Stanley, kept Rosenberg out before an injury time winner from Noah Holm.
Other moments of note saw Tomas Nemcik’s studs up challenge on Casemiro that would have brought a red card had it not been a friendly. The United midfielder was thankfully ok.
Rashford has at least kicked a ball again in a game this summer, just not the one he would have hoped for.
