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Topics: Marcus Rashford, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Premier League
Josh Lawless
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Premier League
Marcus Rashford has summed up exactly why he left Manchester United by posting a 12-word message after making his Champions League debut for Aston Villa.
Rashford found himself out of favour under Ruben Amorim, who criticised his level in training and continually dropped him from matchday squads.
His last game for United was a Europa League clash against Viktoria Plzen in November and Rashford expressed an interest in embarking on a new challenge away from his boyhood club.
Villa came in for the England international and signed him on loan until the end of the season, handing him the No.9 shirt following Jhon Duran's £62.5 million move to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
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Rashford has been given a new lease of life under Unai Emery, with three assists in his first seven appearances. The 27-year-old has looked incredibly sharp whenever he's turned out for Villa and on Tuesday night he helped the Midlands outfit pick up a huge 3-1 Champions League round of 16 first leg win over Club Brugge.
Villa were pegged back when Maxim De Cuyper cancelled out Leon Bailey's opener but helped by a stunning goal-line clearance from Tyrone Mings, scored late in the second half through a Brandon Mechele own goal and a penalty from Marco Asensio.
Rashford clearly enjoyed the win under the lights and took to Instagram after the final whistle in Bruges, writing: “Champions League Nights. We’re at the halfway stage! See you next week.”
Rashford featured six times on Thursday nights in the Europa League but is now playing in Europe's premier club competition once again.
While he was criticised by Amorim for not applying himself, Villa captain John McGinn has been impressed by the work-rate and performances from both Rashford and Asensio, who have had another dimension to Villa's attack.
"They've been a breath of fresh air, three really good guys, obviously come with big reputations but they haven't shown any ego," McGinn told TNT Sports.
"They're pretty low maintenance, they work hard to get their careers back on track.
"They obviously weren't playing at their clubs, so what we can give them is a platform to do that and be happy, and all we want in return is for them to be a good team-mate, work hard, do the things we've all been doing over the last couple of seasons and show their quality. They've been brilliant."
According to Fabrizio Romano, Villa have the option to buy Rashford permanently for a fee of £40 million. If activated, he would sign a three-and-a-half-year deal.