Erik ten Hag hailed Marcus Rashford as one of the best strikers in Europe after his late goal inspired Manchester United’s 2-0 win over old rivals Leeds on Sunday.
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After Rashford scored to bring United back from two goals down in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Leeds, he tormented the Yorkshire club again.
Rashford scored on 10 minutes at Elland Road to make it four Premier League games with a goal for the England forward, who has scored in eight of his last nine appearances in the competition.
After Alejandro Garnacho’s frustrated reaction to being substituted on Wednesday, the young Argentine made a mistake when he came off the bench to seal United’s hard-fought victory five minutes after Rashford’s goal.
Asked if Rashford was one of the best in Europe, Ten Hag said: “He is definitely one of them. He has the skills. I was convinced from the first moment.
“I’m very happy to work with him. Yes, I think I can get more from him.
“As long as they stay invested and stay focused in every game and bring energy and confidence, they will continue to score.”
United have won just twice in their last five league games, although they have now lost just once in their last 17 matches in all competitions.
The Ten Hag side move into second place, although Manchester City will return to the top if they beat Aston Villa on Sunday.
More importantly, United are seven points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham in the race to qualify for the Champions League via the top four.
The clash was marred by offensive jeers from the stands, with Leeds fans singing about the 1958 Munich air crash that killed several United players and their rivals eventually responding by singing about the deaths of two Leeds fans in Istanbul in 2000.
Both clubs condemned the chant and the Premier League said: “The league considers the issue of the singing tragedy to be a priority and an important issue.”
Leeds are without a win in their last nine league games for the fourth time and will go into the relegation zone if Everton beat Liverpool on Monday.
Since the dismissal of Jesse Marsch on Friday, Leeds has seen a move for Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola blocked by his club, while Feyenoord’s Arne Slot and West Brom’s Carlos Corberan ruled themselves out of contention.
Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear confirmed the search was “advanced”, but Michael Skubala was put in charge of the second leg on a caretaker basis.
– Fierce competition –
Amid the cacophonous noise at Elland Road, Leeds made a frenzied start, with Crysencio Summerville firing over after a mistake from United left Tyrell Malacia.
In keeping with the aggressive tone of one of English football’s bitterest rivalries, there were early bookings for Summerville and Leeds team-mate Junior Firpo for a pair of violent offences.
Bruno Fernandes squandered a golden opportunity when he raced clean through on goal after a mistake by Max Wober, only to shoot straight at Illan Meslier.
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After scoring United’s equalizer against Leeds in midweek, Jadon Sancho was rewarded with his first league start since October, but the England striker was largely anonymous and came off after an hour.
United defender Diogo Dalot almost ended the stalemate with a fierce strike against the bar from the edge of the area.
David De Gea had to save smartly with his feet to deny Summerville’s drive from a narrow angle before United finally made the breakthrough in the 80th minute.
Luke Shaw whipped in a tantalizing cross and Rashford found space to whip home a powerful header from 10 yards, with the striker’s 21st goal of the season escaping a VAR review for offside.
Garnacho put the result beyond doubt five minutes later when he broke into the area and fired past Meslier past the near post.