A SMILE is back on Marcus Rashford’s face.
The goals are back, too. As is his place in the England team.
GettyThe smile is back on Marcus Rashford’s face and he has the chance to prove the best is yet to come at Aston Villa[/caption]
EPAIt is six years since he completed the greatest two-legged comeback in Champions League history against PSG for Man Utd[/caption]
But now it comes down to Rashford himself.
To show that this is a genuine renaissance of a player with half a career left to go — and not just a fleeting false dawn.
And the looming showdown with a Paris Saint-Germain side that sent Liverpool out of the Champions League last month is the perfect stage for Rashford to demonstrate the best could be yet to come.
It was, astonishingly, more than six years since Rashford converted the controversial stoppage-time penalty at the Parc des Princes that completed arguably the greatest two-legged comeback in the history of the competition.
In the 33 years since the European Cup was rebranded, 54 clubs have lost the home first leg by two or more goals.
Only one, Manchester United against PSG in 2019, have turned the tie around to go through — a 2-0 home loss followed by a 3-1 win to triumph on away goals.
And that under a caretaker boss in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with a team including Andreas Pereira and Scott McTominay and a bench featuring Tahith Chong, an 18-year-old Mason Greenwood and Angel Gomes, who left the club having never started a Prem game.
Back then, smashing his spot-kick past the dive of Gianluigi Buffon to stun the home fans before celebrating in front of the travelling United supporters, Rashford seemed assured of legend status at Old Trafford.
A fixture for club and country, a genuine local hero.
Fast forward to now and Rashford will be wearing the claret and blue of Aston Villa rather than United red when he takes on the current incarnation of PSG.
That he seems to be enjoying his football again is clear.
The 27-year-old has the trust of Villa boss Unai Emery — something he clearly had lost under Old Trafford chiefs Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.
Villa supporters have taken to him, too. They love his endeavour and desire.
His willingness to do the hard yards but also take risks in the right areas.
England chief Thomas Tuchel appears to feel he can utilise this version of Rashford, starting him against both Albania and Latvia.
He may not have lit up Wembley but it was a return to the international scene after a year, following his omission from Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad. A big step back.
Rashford was grinning from ear to ear as he walked back across the Deepdale pitch on Sunday, clutching his man-of-the-match trophy after ending his 120-day goal drought with an FA Cup double against Preston.
The first was a nonchalant finish, pulling off into space to steer home with conviction and ease, while his penalty second was stroked in with similar certainty.
Plenty of United supporters will be asking where that version of Rashford had been for the previous 18 months.
What he wants to do next is down to him.
He could turn the Villa loan into a permanent move, potentially make himself a summer target for Europe’s elite clubs, or even choose to put Amorim under the spotlight at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese might have been slightly disingenuous saying he was “happy when our players are playing well on loan”, although a successful finish to Rashford’s spell at Villa Park could add to his sale price if there is no way back.
Remarkably, the forward’s last Champions League goal was 3½ years ago, the first as United came from two-down to beat Atalanta 3-2 at Old Trafford.
There could be no better time for him to end that statistic than back in Paris next week. Seizing the moment. Seizing the day.
Villa would benefit. So would England. But most of all, Rashford himself.
Go out and show us, Marcus.
