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Rashford says Mourinho taught...

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Rashford says Mourinho taught United how to win penalties

Phil Egan
Phil Egan

09:34 15 Jan 2021


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Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has revealed that former manager José Mourinho helped him become more "savvy" in the penalty area.

Rashford received the Football Writers’ Association 2021 tribute award on Thursday and was asked about the amount of penalties United win.

Jurgen Klopp said recently that United had been given "more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years" as Liverpool manager.

United have already been awarded 11 penalties in all competitions this season, to add to the 22 they won last season.

"As a forward line we want to go and score goals," Rashford told the FWA.

"When you are making runs in behind or you are dribbling with the ball and if you see a challenge coming, you don’t want to get tackled because you are looking at an opportunity to score a goal.

"There is no way you are going to let somebody take the ball off you, so for me it is just a case of us wanting to score goals and the teams wanting to defend goals – and you know, penalties can happen.

"But there have been times when we have probably not got penalties.

"I remember when José was manager, there were five or six times I can remember where I should have had a penalty. José ended up saying to me: 'If you are not savvy about the way you do it, then you are not going to [get] give[n] it.'

"After that, we started to get a few penalties. It was something that in terms of development you have to learn that and understand it."

Bruno Fernandes is usually spot on when it comes to penalties, converting seven from eight this season but Rashford says the players are always arguing over penalties in training.

"It is worse in training than it is in games. We are having arguments every day, shouting at whoever the referee is."

United go to Anfield on Sunday with a three-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

It's the first time since 1997 that a Liverpool and Manchester United game has been a first versus second and it also sees the team with the best home record in the league this season go against the side with the best away record.

Champions Liverpool have taken 22 points from a possible 24 at Anfield, while United have only dropped two points on the road from their eight away games.


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Jose Mourinho Liverpool Manchester United Marcus Rashford Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Premier League

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