Comparing Man United’s Rashford and Greenwood: Who is a better finisher?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently admitted that it was getting harder to leave Mason Greenwood out of his starting XI after the teenager came off the bench to rescue a point for Manchester United against Everton.
The Toffees, led by interim boss Duncan Ferguson, appeared to be heading for a hard-fought win at Old Trafford before Greenwood was called upon by Solskjaer. Greenwood replaced Jesse Lingard and played with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, before scoring United’s equalizer in the 77th minute.
Greenwood’s emergence as another bright prospect just highlights how productive the United academy has been. Even in difficult moments over the last six or seven years, former boss Louis van Gaal brought through Rashford and Lingard. And then Jose Mourinho showed great faith in Scott McTominay, who has become a fine player for United.
Greenwood made his senior debut on the final day of last season. He has netted seven times so far in 2019/20 for United. Jadon Sancho (11) and Gabriel Martinelli (8) are the only teenagers in Europe’s top-five league to have more this season.
Despite United’s struggles this season, Greenwood’s performances have been one of the highlights and he continued his good form last weekend. Following another fine display, let’s compare him to Rashford and determine as to who is the better finisher.
Rashford, who broke into the Manchester United squad with 4 goals in his first 2 games, has gone on to become one of United’s most important players over the years. He was even given the task of scoring the penalty which took United past PSG in the Champions League last season. This season too, he has been lethal in front of the goal and is the top goal-scorer.
Greenwood, on the other hand, has made sporadic appearances in the Premier League but has set the Europa League on fire with 4 goals. In the league too, he has scored 2 important goals against Sheffield United and Everton and salvaged a point on both occasions.
In the Europa League, Greenwood has scored 4 and assisted one goal. He has averaged 2.8 shots per game and has a pass percentage of 88.4. In 437 minutes, he has managed an average of 1.6 key passes per 90 minutes. He has mostly played on the right-hand side but has also slotted in the striker’s position occasionally [Courtesy: Whoscored].
Rashford, on the other hand, has played 215 minutes in the Europa League. Although he has averaged 3 shots per game, he managed to score a solitary goal and has fluffed many chances. He has also registered an average of 0.8 key passes, which is lower than Greenwood [Courtesy: Whoscored].
Greenwood, all of 18, has already made a name for himself at Old Trafford and has saved United’s blushes more than once this season. He has been deadly in front of the goal and stats show that he is more of a natural finisher when compared to Marcus Rashford.
