Marcus Rashford’s prolific February quickly forgotten as surprise player of the month emerges

As we shiver through the early knockings of March, February already seems a long time ago. All balmy spring-like days, Europa League wins over Barcelona and Wembley trophies, it even spawned talk of a quadruple.

When the United boss was spotted dining with Sir Alex it appeared the Erik ten Hag revolution had gained the ultimate seal of approval and all was well with the world. Then came Anfield.

The players who some thought might carry United to the title - including the United players themselves it seems - were cruelly exposed in the second half by Jurgen Klopp’s rejuvenated Liverpool.

READ MORE: Four moments vs Liverpool showed why Bruno Fernandes must change to keep Manchester United captaincy

The fall from grace was even more exaggerated for the four players our journalists picked out as February’s star performers. Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Casemiro and Luke Shaw will not look back on their contributions against Liverpool with any sense of satisfaction.

The performances of Bruno and Shaw, in particular, were picked apart by pundits and fans alike, while Casemiro and Rashford escaped much of the criticism only by dint of so many United players going missing.

But let’s not dwell on Sunday, what’s done is done. Let’s instead dwell on February!

Rashford scored seven in eight, Shaw was the best left-back in the league and Fernandes was the captain United deserved. Casemiro, meanwhile, was the midfielder every title-winning side needed.

Buoyed by an assault on four trophies, MEN readers were asked to vote for the Player of the Month from the shortlist of four.

And they chose influence over goals, with Casemiro, despite missing a chunk of the month through suspension, picking up 51% of the vote to Rashford’s