After Marcus Rashford put Manchester United ahead against Leeds United last weekend, Erik ten Hague was tipped to be the number ten best striker in Europe’s elite.
“He’s definitely one of them,” conceded Ten Hague, a manager who rarely offers public praise.
Before Rashford flicked the ball past Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen, dubbed the ‘Wall of La Liga’, Xavi described the 25-year-old as “one of the most dangerous players in Europe”. .
Nevertheless, Rashford has been the most dangerous player on the continent of late, in terms of net goals, after extending his scoring streak with a brace against Leicester on Sunday afternoon.
16 goals have been scored since the World Cup ended.
Marcus Rashford is unstoppable.🫡 pic.twitter.com/7fnp4Dofst
— 90 Minutes (@90min_Football) February 19, 2023
Since the World Cup wrapped up in mid-December, no player in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more goals in all competitions than Rashford. The Manchester United talisman has scored 16 goals in 17 games.
Since the return of European club football following the action in Qatar, 13 Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Chelsea, have scored fewer goals than Rashford alone.
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is Rashford’s closest challenger in terms of goal scorers. The former France international was originally part of Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus squad but left camp before the start of the tournament after picking up an injury in training.
Karim Djaziri, Benzema’s agent, argued that his client was fit for most of the bout but was stopped by Deschamps. Nevertheless, since announcing his international retirement after the World Cup final, Benzema has scored ten goals for Real Madrid, including one in the Club World Cup final.
Erling is one of four players to score nine goals since the resumption of Dutch club football. Manchester City’s Norwegian goal-gobbler failed to qualify for the World Cup in the Middle East but his impressive scoring rate has dipped since the six-week break.
Erling Holland remains one of Europe’s most talented players despite drop-off after World Cup / Michael Regan / Getty Images
After averaging a goal every 60 minutes during his first four months with City, Holland is finding the net every 113 minutes since the World Cup. For comparison, Rashford is driving the ball past opposition keepers at a rate of one goal every 80 minutes. From mid-December
Unlike Manchester United’s Rashford, Alexandre Lacazette has started the goalscoring streak as the focal point of a struggling side. Despite the best efforts of their returning captain, Lyon are sinking into the unfamiliar realm of mid-table in Ligue 1. A hat-trick against fifth-tier Chambray SF in the French Cup added to Lacazette’s post-World Cup tally of nine goals, but the former Arsenal striker has 14 Ligue1 goals this season.
Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder claims the same impressive tally – bettered by only three players in the division. The perennially underrated striker scored his eighth and ninth goals since the World Cup against Qatar’s Golden Goose as Monaco cruised to a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain last weekend.
Victor Osimhan is off the list of in-form forwards with Rashford comfortably at the top. Serie A’s leading scorer has netted in each of his last seven league games – the longest three-point winning streak any Napoli player has enjoyed in Italy’s top flight (since 1994/95). Not picked up.
Osimhen’s prolific form has pushed Napoli to a commanding 15-point lead at the Serie A table with just 15 matches of the season remaining.
Rashford’s goals have helped Manchester United to the brink of the Premier League title race, with the Red Devils just five points behind leaders Arsenal and three behind second-placed Manchester City. With one of the most in-form forwards in European football, United can’t be ruled out just yet.