A deeper dive: Three amazing statistics about Marcus Rashford’s Crystal Palace goal

Manchester United got back to winning ways in the Premier League, defeating Crystal Palace 2-1 at Old Trafford.

The fixture is the latest in an incredible run of wins at Old Trafford, with Manchester United seeing victory in their last 13 fixtures at the ground.

Erik ten Hag’s work at the club so far is becoming clear to see, and Marcus Rashford’s finish against Crystal Palace is the perfect encapsulation of what the Dutchman has implemented into the team during his opening season in charge.

The goal was the work of an entire team effort, stretching and breaking down the Palace defence, with the move starting with a throw in from Aaron Wan-Bissaka in United’s defensive third.

However, taking a bit of a deeper dive into the build-up of the goal reveals three fascinating statistics. The full goal can be viewed below.

1) The goal was the accumulation of 15 passes

The only other goal which springs to mind like this in recent-ish times is a goal Juan Mata scored while United were managed by Louis van Gaal, away against Southampton.

15 consecutive passes before a goal, especially with a considerable amount of these passes taking place in Palace’s final third, signals the fundamental changes Ten Hag has made to the type of play he wants.

The goal is a complete switch from goals United have been used to scoring under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the Norwegian’s side famed for the quick, counter-attack style that United have been associated with over the last few decades. The shift in style is a reflection of United finally catching up to modern types of play, with a more dominant stance being taken.

2) Alejandro Garnacho is a mastermind

During the build-up, Alejandro Garnacho was involved on three occasions: twice to carry the ball from the left to right side of the pitch, and once again when carrying the ball back over to Luke Shaw, who then provided the assist.

No one touched the ball more times than Garnacho during the build-up to the goal. The young Argentinian winger, who is set to pen a new deal with the club, has shown many times this season just how much of an impact he can have on the left.

Coming off the bench against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, against Manchester City in the Premier League, and now in this Palace fixture too, his superstar-level potential is plain as day.

3) Nine different outfield players were involved

The only outfield player who did not touch the ball during the build-up to the goal was Raphael Varane.

Erik ten Hag has been adamant in his promotion of team unity since he arrived, and has been consistent in his decision-making surrounding that. He was not afraid to drop and terminate Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract, and he’s not afraid to drop significant figures such as club captain Harry Maguire, too.

Ten Hag promotes the idea that if one player wins, the team wins. Marcus Rashford may have got the final (and his only) touch to score the goal, however, it was a collective and unified effort of the entire squad that made it happen.

“It was a perfect team goal for me,” said Ten Hag of the goal. “It was a great team goal, by switching play, playing between the lines, great combinations and then finally he finished off a brilliant pass by Luke Shaw as well, the cross. And then of course the finish was very good.”

“Once again, (we are) united between the fans and the team. The connection, and we have to keep the process going, is brilliant because it really shows that we are working together on the success of Manchester United.”