Roy Keane thinks Marcus Rashford will feel “strangely” frustrated at Aston Villa despite his impressive start following his loan move from Manchester United.
Rashford came off the bench at half-time against Chelsea in the Premier League to claim two assists to turn the game on its head and got his third Villa assist in another impressive performance in the 2-0 FA Cup win over Coventry on Friday.
Hosts Villa were frustrated in the opening 45 minutes by the Championship side, but Rashford helped find the breakthrough, putting the ball on a plate for Marco Asensio with a first-time cross from the left flank.
Asensio doubled the lead in the 80th minute and Villa held firm to secure a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since their run to the final in 2015.
“He does [shape his run intelligently] and that’s what Marcus should be doing more of,” Keane said of Rashford’s assist on ITV after Villa’s 2-0 victory.
“You give good players time on the ball and you’re in trouble. We saw it in the first half and Marcus is very good at doing that.
“This is obviously one of Marcus’ big strengths. He has a bit of luck at the end, I’m not sure he’s trying to pick out Asensio.
“But to be fair, he needs a bit of luck, he’s put it into the right area and a quality player walking onto it, one-touch finish.
“No chance for the goalkeeper. Lovely, simple, effective goal.”
No Premier League player has created more than Rashford’s 13 chances since he swapped United for Villa in January.
Having been informed of the stat, Keane said: “Strangely enough, I think Marcus has done well with the assists, but I still think he will be thinking: ‘I want to score a few goals myself’.”
Arsenal legend Ian Wright agreed that Rashford should be looking to contribute goals in the coming weeks.
“It’s still bitty. You’re still seeing quality,” Wright said.
“He got a bit fortunate in respects of that cut-back. But in the main, he’s trying to go at people, I think he could that more.
“Like Roy said, I would like to see him score a couple of goals. It’s not like he’s not trying but he’s just easing himself in, he’s getting going.”
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Keane added that he believes Villa boss Unai Emery now has something other managers of top teams don’t.
“We argue most weekends about options. We’ve seen Manchester City struggling with Haaland, obviously Arsenal,” he added.
“As a top manager with a big club, you want options and Villa have got plenty of options.
“It’s just about getting the balance right: who to put in, who to take out and it’s good for the manager.
“That’s what you need with a lot of games coming up.”
