Marcus Rashford can be "unstoppable" when Manchester United play to his strengths, believes Erik ten Hag, and former captain Roy Keane was not surprised to see him deliver against Everton on Friday.
Rashford was the star of the show in a 3-1 win that sent United through to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The England forward created the opener for Antony at Old Trafford, then showed sublime skill to force Conor Coady into an own goal that cancelled out the Everton defender's prior equaliser.
Rashford got the third goal himself, dispatching a stoppage-time penalty at the end of a display manager Ten Hag described as "90 minutes of threat".
Keane, in his role as an ITV pundit, said: "The beauty of watching Marcus tonight was this is what I expect of him now. I'm not surprised by what I've seen.
"He's becoming hopefully one of the main players for United; can he get them back to winning trophies? He's taking responsibility.
"Tonight, with two assists and a goal, I'm thinking I expect this now from Marcus every week. He's obviously playing with a confidence."
Confidence is undoubtedly key for a player who has scored in five straight matches and seven in a row at Old Trafford, but Ten Hag also highlighted the importance of his team-mates.
"It's about bringing him in the right position," he said in a news conference. "He has to do it, but make sure as a team we create spaces, so he is coming [with] his strengths.
"That is Marcus doing really well, but also the team is doing very well to get the right shape.
"So, he can bring his strengths in, and I think then he is unstoppable, with his speed, with his dribbles, with his directness."
Ten Hag, like Keane, is confident Rashford can maintain those high standards moving forward as United retain an interest on four fronts this season.
"Of course, as a striker, you measure goals [and] assists," Ten Hag added. "Today he had two assists and one goal, so it's great.
"He has fantastic skills, and when he has that mental stability, he can keep going.
"That demands a lot, first from him, also from us as a team, an organisation, to make sure we have the right environment, the right culture. When he keeps focused like this, I'm sure he can keep this process going."
Al-Riyadh 0-3 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double sends hosts top
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice late on to secure Al-Hilal a 3-0 win over Al-Riyadh, sending them top of the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.
Salem Al-Dawsari orchestrated the victory though, scoring one and assisting both of Mitrovic's goals, while Marcos Leonardo was denied a strike of his own.
Al-Hilal dominated the first half, managing 10 shots as they smothered the hosts, but they could not find a breakthrough, only testing Milan Borjan twice.
Both sides moved through the gears in the second half though, with Ibrahim Bayesh rifling a powerful effort against the woodwork minutes after the break for the hosts.
Al-Dawsari found a way through shortly after – he made a sensational run down the left before cutting inside and dinking a lovely shot over Borjan and in off the far post.
Leonardo ran off the back of Al-Riyadh's defence and scored a chip of his own, only to have the goal ruled out as he started his run too early.
Mitrovic made sure of the three points after 80 minutes as he slotted in from a tight angle and got his second in the 100th minute to round off a good day for Al-Hilal.
Data Debrief: Al-Dawsari steals the show
After struggling to find their shooting boots in the first half, Al-Hilal can be thankful for their left-winger, who caused all sorts of problems for Al-Riyadh.
He had the most touches in the opposition box (seven), and created the most chances (four), while only Ruben Neves (27) made more passes than him in the final third (22).
Everton 'can't keep leaking goals', says Dyche
Sean Dyche has criticised Everton’s ‘leaky’ defence following a second defeat after going two-nil up in back-to-back games.
Everton lost 3-2 to Aston Villa after leading by two goals after 30 minutes, having also lost 3-2 to Bournemouth after leading by the same advantage prior to the international break.
In doing so, Dyche’s side became only the second side in Premier League history to lose back-to-back games after leading by two or more goals in both.
Following Saturday’s defeat to Villa, Dyche feels his side are lacking the cutting edge at vital moments.
“Today, we make a mistake and they capitalise on it. I said to the players, the killer instinct in both boxes is what’s vital. The key moment was to go 3-1 up. We didn’t and we made a mistake, and they capitalised on it. We have to keep going,” he told Sky Sports.
“We’re making high-quality chances. At the minute, we’ve got to score as many as it takes to win a game. That’s been a challenge since I’ve been at the club. We can’t keep leaking goals like that.
“We’re having to manipulate the team. We have to keep believing in each other. You’ve got a responsibility to deal with it – and that’s what we have to do, including me.
“[The players] are an honest group. They’ve worked very hard and been through a lot. We are where we are, so they’re very disappointed. We have to respond. Before you know it, Tuesday will be upon us.”
Everton have struggled with injury so far this season and find themselves increasingly short at the back.
Vitaliy Mykolenko had to be substituted after 26 minutes against Villa due to injury and was replaced by James Garner, traditionally a midfielder.
“We’re certainly taking some knocks at the minute. Every mistake seems to be a goal, and every chance we don’t quite capitalise on,” reflected Dyche.
“Unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the margins again today. It’s a tough one to take, for different reasons than the last game. We’re down to a low squad anyway, so it’s been a challenge without a shadow of a doubt.”
Martinez: Duran can be 'the best in the world'
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez believes match-winner Jhon Duran can be “one of the best strikers in the world” after he scored a 30-yard screamer against Everton.
Duran completed Aston Villa’s comeback in a 3-2 win against Everton at Villa Park, having been two goals down to the visitors after 27 minutes.
The Colombian was subbed on after 69 minutes and scored just seven minutes later. All three of his goals this season have been winners from the bench, meaning he has now scored the most winners as a substitute in a Premier League season ever.
Having witnessed his decisive impact today, Martinez believes he can be one of the best in the game.
"I have seen it from behind and I saw the ball moving - it was unstoppable,” the Argentine told Sky Sports, referencing his goal.
"It was a great strike. We have been trying to help Duran in the Premier League and if he can keep the consistency, he can be a really big threat.
"He can be one of the best strikers in the world, but he needs to keep his feet on the ground and to work hard. He has one of the top strikers [Ollie Watkins] in England playing in front of him."
His fellow striker Ollie Watkins scored a brace to bring Villa level against Everton prior to Duran’s strike.
It was the first time he had scored for the club since April 2024, though he had clearly been getting in the right positions. Before his first goal of the game, he had the highest xG total (1.58) in the league among those yet to score.
Watkins had a shortened pre-season after starring for England at Euro 2024.
“There’s such a quick turnaround from the Euros. A lot of the boys are getting back up to fitness,” Watkins told Sky Sports.
“I’m not at 100%. I took some time off during the international break. I don’t want to miss too many matches, though.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t get the hat-trick. I should be coming off with the match ball, but I’ll settle for the two.
“We were obviously unlucky against Arsenal. We’re delighted we got [the win] today. Now we focus on the Champions League, which everyone is looking forward to.”
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