Marcus Rashford has risked the wrath of manager Erik ten Hag by going out clubbing just hours after Manchester United’s defeat in the derby at Old Trafford.
Rashford put in another below-par display as United were easily beaten 3-0 at home by Manchester City on Sunday.
Afterwards, the England star headed for top Manchester nightspot Chinawhite to celebrate his 26th birthday with family and friends in a VIP area. It is understood that United team-mate Tyrell Malacia was also there.
The party is said to have finished at around 3.30am, although it is unclear if Rashford stayed out that long. He trained with the rest of the squad at Carrington on Monday morning. Sources close to Rashford described it as an intimate, planned celebration for his birthday in a private area of the club.
It remains to be seen if Ten Hag takes a dimmer view of the situation and considers disciplinary action against the player. Rashford has risked upsetting his manager by celebrating at such a high-profile venue so soon after a painful result. At best, it was a bad look in the circumstances.
Marcus Rashford risked the fury of Man United supporters after Sunday’s derby defeat
The Manchester United star went out clubbing after United’s derby defeat against City
United manager Erik ten Hag could take a dim view to his star player’s celebrations so soon after defeat
United’s 30-goal top scorer last season has only found the net once for his club this term after signing a new £300,000-a-week deal in July.
Team-mates have talked privately about Rashford needing to step up and help United overcome a dreadful start to the season that has seen Ten Hag’s side lose seven of their first 14 games.
The situation is so bad that even old adversary Arsene Wenger said he felt sorry for United after the latest setback. The former Arsenal manager claimed the team are playing with fear and no hope. Speaking to beIN Sports, Wenger said: ‘In the end, for such a big club you felt sorry for United because there’s no hope in the team.
‘I don’t see where they can improve. This team have lost confidence, quality and even spirit. I would say it was not a great fighting spirit from United, on top of that.
‘I believe where United suffers a lot, first of all, is about the quality — the individual quality of the players.’
Ten Hag was brought to Old Trafford to replicate his success at Ajax, but the Dutchman surprisingly said after the derby defeat: ‘We will never play the football we played at Ajax here. I now have other players, that’s not why I came here.
‘The football at Ajax is very typical, here we will play much more directly.’
Rashford has usually been relied upon by Ten Hag to help United score goals in games
