Marcus Rashford credits David de Gea with keeping Manchester United in their Carabao Cup tie with City
Despite being outclassed in the first-half and losing 3-1, De Gea made a number of important saves to give United a slim chance of turning the tie around in the second-leg on 29 January
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Your support makes all the difference.Marcus Rashford has heaped praise on Manchester United teammate David de Gea for his performance in Tuesday evening’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg.
Despite being outclassed in the first-half and losing 3-1, de Gea made a number of important saves to give United a slim chance of turning the tie around in the second-leg on 29 January.
De Gea has come under criticism for a drop in form over recent seasons and many United fans hoped back-up stopper Sergio Romero would continue in goal after shutting out Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round.
But Rashford – who scored in the 70th minute to give United a glimmer of hope of reaching the final on 1 March – has backed his Spanish teammate and believes de Gea is to thank for keeping the Red Devils in the tie.
“For me, it wasn’t the goal that gives us a chance,” Rashford told Manchester United’s website. “David made three or four world-class saves and that’s the reason we’re still in the tie. We have to understand that.”
The 22-year-old opened the scoring in United’s league win at the Etihad in December, but admitted that City were a different beast in the semi-final, saying: “They changed a little bit from the last time we played against them. Maybe we have to adapt a little bit more on the pitch as players and try to control the game a little bit more.
“It’s tough against them, they’re a good team, but we have to expect more from ourselves. It’s disappointing to lose the game. The first half wasn’t good enough. The second half was a little bit better and a little bit more like ourselves.
“But today we weren’t good enough to win the game. Now we have to focus on Norwich.”
The Canaries – currently rock bottom in the league – travel to Old Trafford on Saturday for what will be Rashford’s 200th United appearance, but he is focused only on achieving a positive result.
The England international said: “To be honest, the games have all come thick and fast. You don’t notice the numbers going up so much. It is my 200th game and obviously it is going to be a good night for me. It is definitely a proud moment to play 200 games for this club.
“But if we don’t get the three points then for me it doesn’t mean a thing. We have to make sure that we win the game and put on a positive performance.”
Rashford captained United for the first time against City and will become the 100th player to reach 200 appearances for the Red Devils if he features against Norwich City.
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