Red-hot Rashford hitting the right notes for United ahead of Manchester derby

While most players ease their way back into their club side after a gruelling World Cup, Manchester United's Marcus Rashford has not wasted any time, scoring in every match since his return to take his season's tally to 15 goals.

The 25-year-old has scored seven times in six games in three different competitions to lead United back to the top four in the Premier League, the fourth round of the FA Cup and the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Rashford also became the first player since the club's top scorer Wayne Rooney in 2010 to net in eight home games in a row for United with a late double in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic.

Not bad for a forward who was woefully out of form last season and scored only five times in all competitions.

"If he keeps the focus and keeps putting the effort in, he will keep on scoring," coach Erik ten Hag said.

"What you see now with Rashy, that is quite obvious. It wasn't at the start of the season, but now he is in the right moment."

RASHFORD RENAISSANCE

Rashford's turnaround in form is no coincidence and two major factors have contributed to his renaissance - the departure of hero-turned-villain Cristiano Ronaldo and the appointment of Ten Hag.

Ronaldo's arrival in 2021 was seen as a vanity signing as United were not a team that was struggling to score while Rashford was also on the rise having completed a second straight season with 20-plus goals.

But even as Ronaldo added to his burgeoning goals tally with 24 strikes, the rest of the team suffered as United struggled to their worst-ever Premier League points total last season.

Enter Ten Hag, who laid down the law very early on and benched the ageing Ronaldo and changed their style of play to get the best out of all players on the pitch.

Ron