Erik ten Hag addresses Marcus Rashford misses before Real Betis wonder-goal

Manchester United bested Real Betis 1-0 in the second leg of their Europa League tie thanks to a spectacular goal from Marcus Rashford.

After defeating the same opposition 4-1 a week prior at Old Trafford, Manchester United qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals with a 5-1 aggregate score.

Despite his winning goal, which was a fantastic strike, Marcus Rashford missed two separate chances prior to his goalscoring effort, with one effort blasting over the bar from close range.

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However, Ten Hag has explained the positives that he will take from Rashford’s misses, citing the context in which he was able to get into the goalscoring positions.

“I think he missed two big chances but then he can deal with that,” Ten Hah explained after the fixture. “That is important for a striker, you can deal with not every chance can be a goal. He will always be in the position he can score and he has to be focused on that. He keeps trying and he got his reward.”

Speaking more generally about Rashford’s spectacular goal record this season, Ten Hag was full of praise: “It tells you something about the team performance and something about him.

“We have discussed a lot about the issue from the start of the season: if Rashy keeps his focus and makes sure he has the energy, the way we play, the way he has to play in that system and style, he will come into scoring positions and then it’s about him.

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“He has the abilities to finish. That’s what I try to explain [to you] – also good strikers must know not every chance is a goal. On this level, you don’t create five or six chances in a top game so one of the two [chances] has to be in.”