In 2016, on an European night, fans would have been frustrated when Louis Van Gaal announced that Anthony Martial had been replaced in the matchday squad after picking up an injury during the team's warm-up ahead of their Europa League clash with Midtjylland.
In a campaign when Manchester United had to rely on the individual brilliance of their new signing to win games, the announcement of him being pulled out of the matchday squad would have left fans wondering how their team would solve problems on the pitch.
A certain Marcus Rashford was named as his replacement and thrown straight into the starting lineup a few minutes before kickoff. Well, he stole the show, scoring twice as the Red Devils went on to win 5-1.
The frustration from Anthony Martial's injury worsened as the French international was ruled out for a number of weeks while Louis Van Gaal's side have two big Premier League fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City ahead.
Fans could be forgiven if they had thought getting a draw against their next Premier League opponents would be an excellent result. Marcus Rashford stepped into the limelight again, scoring a brace against Arsenal before clinching the winner against Pep Guardiola's side weeks later. That sent a message to the fans and the manager that what happened two nights ago in the Europa League wasn't a fluke.
The academy product went on to forge a formidable partnership with Anthony Martial for the rest of the season, bringing back the vibes and memories of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at Old Trafford as they went on to clinch the Emirates FA Cup that campaign.
Marcus Rashford grew better with time and was able to play alongside world-class players on the pitch, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, fellow academy graduate Paul Pogba, and Romelu Lukaku, who helped the team achieve its goals.
However, Marcus Rashford has proven time and time again that he is capable of carrying the team on his back; his displays during his debut season already made this clear. He is a big-game player who has always stepped up and scored world-class goals.
Take, for example, his long range free kick against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup back in 2019. Anthony Martial's look after the ball went in explained how extraordinary the goal was that night, as it turned out to be the winning goal for the Red Devils that night.
Another was his powerful shot from the edge of the box to give Jose Mourinho's Manchester United a 2-0 lead against Liverpool during the Merseyside club's visit to Old Trafford. The way he got into position to receive Romelu Lukaku's headed pass, beating Trent Arnold with his pace and trickery, turning him inside out, before unleashing a rocket into the visitors' net, sent Old Trafford into an eruption.
However, it was Ole Solskjaer's arrival that awoke the goalscoring beast in Marcus Rashford, and even though the Norwegian was pressed and told to bring in a striker capable of reaching the 20-goal mark and helping them get a shot at titles, the former Manchester United striker claimed he already had two in Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial while bringing in a supplement in the form of Mason Greenwood. The trio formed the most fearsome trident across Europe.
The three scored a combined total of over 60 goals while helping the team finish second in the Premier League, but we're unlucky not to lift a trophy. Marcus Rashford continued his stride, reaching the 20-goal mark again the following season before everything went south at Old Trafford.
Ralf Ragnick's regime happened, and like the team's poor performance, Marcus Rashford hit the lowest point of his career, scoring just five goals across all competitions that campaign while battling with a reoccurring shoulder injury.
Erik Ten Hag's arrival reinstalled the attacker's confidence; like Ole Solskjaer, the former Ajax boss believes Marcus Rashford can score 20 goals per season; as it stands, Rashford needs three more to reach 30 goals while also assisting nine times.
While he did this, the 25-year-old was attempting to break a few of the records left behind by Manchester United's greats, and already it has been concluded that he is having a better season than Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole in their prime. He equaled Wayne Rooney's record of scoring in seven consecutive home games before breaking the record weeks later, but Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring in nine straight home games was safe. He almost matched Van Nisterooy's 10-match straight goalscoring record but was denied after he failed to score during Manchester United's disappointing 1-1 stalemate at Selhurst Park in February.
His goal against Real Betis in Spain takes him into the top five of Manchester United's players with the highest number of European goals for the club, while disposing of Cristiano Ronaldo's 24 European goals for the club; he now has 25, although he has a lot of catching up to do.
He as well holds the record for Manchester United's player with the highest number of goals in Spain; he has five, and he is ahead of Eric Cantona and Andy Cole.
While most of the names mentioned above would boast of several Premier League medals and UEFA Champions League trophies, of course Marcus Rashford can proudly put his Europa League medal on display; however, he still needs to get one of the two medals mentioned with the club if he is to be considered in the same bracket as these greats.
Erik Ten Hag knew how important he could be to the team and compared him to Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe; although the French star will always upstage him with his World Cup and Euro medals at international level, adherent Manchester United's fans will argue that Marcus Rashford is lighting it up in one of the toughest leagues in Europe.
While Manchester United will be pushing to get the England international to sign a new contract at Old Trafford, Man United faithfuls can agree that Marcus Rashford can be mentioned in the same breath as the club's cult heroes, and if he is able to get his hands on the Premier League or Champions League trophy then he will cement his place amongst the Red Devils' greats and legends.
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