Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has revealed what he plans to do to make Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford reach the height of his powers.
Rashford produced a sensational performance for Villa on Saturday evening as they came from behind to beat Chelsea.
The Carrington academy graduate provided two assists for Marco Asensio to overturn the deficit and ensure they clinched all three points.
Beyond the two assists, Rashford was a constant danger throughout the second half and caused the Chelsea defence all sorts of problems.
After the final whistle, Rashford’s Villa teammates Asensio and Youri Tielemans were very complimentary of him.
Asensio told Sky Sports [via GOAL], “I looked to Marcus and he told me that he was not offside. I trust him. He told me that it was not offside. We know all the qualities of Marcus. He helps us a lot and thank you also to him for the two assists.”
Tielemans added, “Very pleased, especially the way he is performing now and with the two assists today. Marcus is someone who can threaten everyone one versus one and even one versus two.”
“He is very important for us in the way he plays because he gives us something different on the left-hand side. You could tell today every time he got the ball he was dangerous and hopefully with many more minutes in his legs he will only get better.”
Emery refused to get carried away with Rashford’s performances, insisting there’s still more to come from the England international.
The Villa boss explained that he will continue to push Rashford while making him feel comfortable, to fully restore his confidence.
The 53-year-old coach said [as quoted by The Mirror], “We want to support him. Help him. Try to help him to feel comfortable here. Try to help him get confidence with us, try to be demanding with him. He is in this process.”
“Of course he played a fantastic 45 minutes. We now want to be consistent. Hopefully he is going to be important, like today, but then more and more and more.”
“The most important [thing] for him is to try to be here with us and be confident and comfortable in a good atmosphere and this is my objective.”
Asked what Villa were doing to get the best out of Rashford, Emery answered, “Support him, help him, try to make him feel comfortable here. Try to get confidence with us. Try to get him to work and play like us. Try to use the skill with the tactical side. Try to be demanding with him with our demands tactically and everything.”
“He is in this process and of course he plays a fantastic 45 minutes and, really, this is the only thing we want to try and get from him, to be consistent through him in our squad. Hopefully he is going to be very important, like today, but more and more and more and the most important for him is to try and feel comfortable here, get confidence and be comfortable with us. This is my only objective.”
The win saw Villa climb up to seventh position in the Premier League table. They’re back in action on February 25 as they go away to Crystal Palace.
Featured image Alex Pantling via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
