Marcus Rashford should be Manchester United’s sole penalty taker instead of Bruno Fernandes, says club legend Wayne Rooney.
Striker Rashford scored the second of two first-half penalties for United at home to Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, sending a precise and powerful effort beyond England team-mate Jordan Pickford after Bruno Fernandes had beaten the goalkeeper with the earlier spot kick.
“Marcus is a really good penalty taker,” said United record scorer Rooney, speaking to TNT Sports.
“I know Bruno’s the captain but Marcus should be saying… you should have one penalty taker – I don’t think you should have two.
“I know he takes the second penalty but I’d just love to see Marcus take responsibility for the penalties.”
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The 26-year-old has had an underwhelming season for under-performing United, scoring only five top-flight goals before a spectacular opener at Manchester City last Sunday.
“You want to take every opportunity to score when you’re a goalscorer,” said Rooney, who netted 253 times for the 20-time champions between 2004 and 2017.
“When we played, it was either Cristiano [Ronaldo] or Ruud van Nistelrooy [taking penalties].
“It was myself later on. I just want to see Marcus score goals – maybe I’m a bit biased.”
Marcus Rashford makes it 2-0 from the spot! 💥 pic.twitter.com/Kq8cVO81zd
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 9, 2024
Man United vs Everton: Rashford ‘looked good’
Rashford made headlines before United’s 3-1 defeat at City because of a column in which he addressed media criticism, including some reports which have questioned his demeanour.
“I watched his body language and it looked really good,” former United defender Rio Ferdinand said after watching Erik ten Hag’s side establish a 2-0 half-time lead against the Toffees.
“I saw him sprinting back a number of times – not ambling, not jogging, but really, really motoring to get back.
“He played a part in both goals as well. He’ll be happy with the half and you want to see goals galore.”
