With a double in his side’s 3-0 victory over Leicester City on Sunday, Marcus Rashford reached a personal milestone and earned the acclaim of Michael Owen, who believes the Manchester United striker is approaching "world-class" status.
Rashford scored either side of half-time to keep his team in contention for the Premier League title and in so doing struck 24 goals for the season in all competitions, more than he has previously managed in a single campaign.
"He should be targeting 30 goals," says Owen. "Six [more] goals in the form he's in. We’re only just past halfway, there’s still a lot of big games, and Manchester United are still in virtually every competition as well.
"It's scary numbers we’re looking at and we’re looking at a player that we’re talking about at world-class level in years to come if he keeps this going."
Owen hails Rashford
Rashford has now moved up to joint-third place in the race for the Castrol Golden Boot, joining Brentford's Ivan Toney on 14 Premier League goals, three behind Harry Kane's 17.
The 25-year-old has some way to go before catching Erling Haaland’s extraordinary top-flight tally of 26, but if he can keep up his current goal rate, he won't be far behind the Manchester City striker come May.
While Haaland has scored eight PL goals since the resumption of the season following the FIFA World Cup 2022, Rashford has rattled off twice that number in all competitions in the same time-frame.
Rashford v Haaland in PL since World Cup
| Rashford | Haaland | ||
| Opp. | Goals | Opp. | Goals |
| Nott'm Forest (H) | 1 | Leeds (A) | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolves (A) | 1 | Everton (H) | 1 |
| AFC Bournemouth (H) | 1 | Chelsea (A) | 0 |
| Man City (H) | 1 | Man Utd (A) | 0 |
| Crystal Palace (A) | 0 | Spurs (H) | 1 |
| Arsenal (A) | 1 | Wolves (H) | 3 |
| Crystal Palace (H) | 1 | Spurs (A) | 0 |
| Leeds (H) | 1 | Aston Villa (H) | 0 |
| Leeds (A) | 1 | Arsenal (A) | 1 |
| Leicester (H) | 2 | Nott'm Forest (A) | 0 |
Rashford is well on course for his best-ever goalscoring season in the Premier League, set in 2019/20 when he netted 17 times.
Cristiano Ronaldo's mark for the most goals scored by a Man Utd player in a single Premier League season, however, looks like a taller order. The Portuguese star struck 31 goals to win the Golden Boot in 2007/08.
"You just keep going game by game," Rashford told Man Utd’s official website. "I've set many targets per month, per week, but it's important for me to just stay focused and on the things that matter and that’s the team winning games.
"You're not going to score every game, but you can be a big help to the team every game if you concentrate and work hard."
Rashford is playing with the total assurance of a striker at the very top of his game, and one who particularly enjoys playing in front of his home crowd.
The Mancunian has now hit the target in seven successive Premier League matches at Old Trafford, a run that takes him to within one of Wayne Rooney’s tally of eight, recorded between December 2009 and March 2010.
Firing them in at Old Trafford 👉😃#MUNLEI pic.twitter.com/4xrGiMVX4K
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 19, 2023
Rashford can match Rooney’s mark against Southampton on 11 March and should he do so, goals in two more home matches, against Everton and Chelsea in April, will bring him level with the club record of 10 set by Cristiano Ronaldo between March and November 2008.
And in the mood he's in, it would be no surprise if he were to match Ronaldo's achievement.
"Confidence is part of football really and you have to find it within yourself and it can also be given through your team-mates, your manager, your family... just your support system really," said Rashford.
"I'm feeling good at the minute. I'm happy and pleased that we're involved in big games. The next game for us is a massive game, followed by an even bigger one so hopefully we can finish what’s been a good start to the week."