Surprising winner of Man United sprinting statistic from 2022/23, Marcus Rashford in third place

Despite regularly been labelled as a speed-demon, Marcus Rashford registered the third most sprints during a Premier League game for Manchester United last season, with Jadon Sancho occupying top spot.

Sancho, 22, has been criticised for his lack of intensity when he has the ball at his feet throughout the 2022/23 campaign, yet the winger has clearly shown on occasion at Old Trafford that he can offer a more direct game.

According to Premier League data, the United wide man managed 32 sprints during the side’s 0-0 draw against Newcastle last October.

In the goalless encounter, Sancho was arguably unfortunate to not win United a penalty in the second half after being tripped by Sean Longstaff.

Sancho also appeared once more in the top 11 on this list with 26 sprints during United’s 4-1 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last month. He registered one assist in that game and was unlucky to not get another as he created five chances throughout the match, including three big chances created.

Whilst there were fair arguments about Sancho’s directness with the ball during periods of the campaign, these statistics show that he has the ability to turn things around if he can find consistency.

Whilst Rashford’s highest amount of sprints during a league fixture was 27 against Manchester City at home – third on the list – he appeared in the list four more times in games at Old Trafford against Aston Villa (27), Bournemouth (26), West Ham (26) and Nottingham Forest (26).

Bruno Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Marcel Sabitzer also appeared in the list, with the United right-back also surprisingly taking up second place with an energetic showing against Chelsea last month.

MOST SPRINTS PER GAME IN 2022/23

32 – Jadon Sancho v Newcastle (H)
30 – Aaron Wan-Bissaka v Chelsea (H)
27 – Marcus Rashford v Man City (H)
27 – Marcus Rashford v Aston Villa (H)
26 – Bruno Fernandes v Liverpool (H)
26 – Bruno Fernandes v Leicester City (A)
26 – Marcus Rashford v Bournemouth (H)
26 – Marcus Rashford v West Ham (H)
26 – Marcus Rashford v Nottingham Forest (H)
26 – Marcel Sabitzer v Aston Villa (H)
26 – Jadon Sancho v Chelsea (H)

(Premier League matches only)