Stars shine after leaving Man United?

Rashford continues to shine for Aston Villa - Photo: REUTERS

More diligent in defending after leaving Man United

That statistic is actually not enough to reflect Rashford's spectacular transformation since he left Man United and moved to Aston Villa on loan in January.

Right in the second match for Aston Villa against Ipswich Town in early February, Rashford made the "red devils" fans angry because he completely changed his playing attitude.

In that match, he was brought onto the field from the second half. And although he did not score any goals or assists, Rashford was still rated by Whoscored as the best player of the match.

In just 45 minutes on the field, Rashford had 3 successful breakthroughs, along with 3 spectacular tackles.

Ball-winning was never Rashford's strong point when he played for Man United. Or more accurately, the English striker rarely dropped back to help the defense. But since leaving Old Trafford, Rashford has shown his best professional face.

It took at least a month, and about 5 or 6 matches sitting on the bench, for Rashford to truly gain the trust of coach Unai Emery. But the English star did not complain, but tried his best.

As a result, Rashford has officially entered the ranks of the new team's pillars. He has started all 3 recent matches, and repaid the trust with 3 goals and 1 assist.

Rashford is just one of many stars who have shone brightly since leaving Man United. In the same season, another player on loan from the "red devils" has done much better, that is Antony.

Antony has completely transformed after moving to Real Betis - Photo: REUTERS

In the first half of the season, Antony scored only 1 goal in 14 appearances for Man United, 11 of which were from the bench.

But since moving to Real Betis, the Brazilian star has been given 12 starting appearances in the past two months, scoring four goals and providing two assists.

Antony's spectacular transformation became a symbol of stars who failed at Man United, but then played well after leaving Man United.

Who is better?

Just two days ago, Man United suffered the bitter consequences of such a case. That was Elanga, who grew up in their academy, before being sold to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2023.

Once considered a player who "could not grow up", Elanga has suddenly become a star for Nottingham Forest. This season, he has scored 6 goals and contributed 8 assists, including a solo goal from his own half against Man United recently.

Another case is Mason Greenwood, who has scored 16 goals for Marseille this season, as many as he scored in his last two seasons at Man United combined.

This season alone, in addition to Rashford and Antony, Man United also has two players who have played well after leaving the team: Wan-Bissaka and Scott McTominay.

At Napoli, McTominay quickly became a mainstay, helping Napoli compete with Inter Milan for the championship. Meanwhile, at West Ham, Wan-Bissaka improved both his defensive and offensive skills.

Wan-Bissaka (in white) also played better after leaving Man United - Photo: REUTERS

Not every player who has left United this season has been a star, with Jadon Sancho still struggling at Chelsea. But overall, the England midfielder has been more consistent, and hasn't caused the same problems as he did at United.

In some cases like Antony or Elanga, they simply found a more suitable playing environment.

In the cases of Rasford and Sancho, they are determined to regain their form after a period of "depraved" at Old Trafford.

But Man United can only blame themselves. They are the team that created an unprofessional playing environment, so that their stars always play below their ability, or cannot develop as expected.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cac-ngoi-sao-cu-roi-man-united-la-toa-sang-20250403131148364.htm