Man United star Marcus Rashford sends out reminder of potential in England player ratings

Denzil Pinto 00:55 09/09/2018
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  • Marcus Rashford (l) gave England the lead

    There was no happy return for England following their World Cup semi-final run as The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday.

    Marcus Rashford opened the scoring for the hosts in front of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho at Wembley before Saul Niguez equalised just moments later. The visitors then took advantage of some poor defending when Rodrigo slotted home just before half-time.

    Luke Shaw, who set up Rashford’s goal, was stretchered off after a clash of heads in the second half while Danny Welbeck harshly had a goal ruled out deep into stoppage time.

    Here are our player ratings:

    England 3-1-4-2

    Jordan Pickford – 6: Could have done better to prevent Spain’s first, but had no chance for second.

    Joe Gomez – 6: Had a busy 45 minutes when Spain were dangerous on the attack, but raised his game as the match went on.

    John Stones – 6: An effective performance by the Manchester City man, who was unfortunate to get a yellow card despite winning the ball cleanly.

    Harry Maguire – 5: Was one of the stand-out performers in Russia, but the Leicester man was a shadow of the player at Wembley. A lapse of concentration played Spain onside for the visitors’ second.

    Jordan Henderson – 6: Not one of his best performances and struggled to make an impact. Unsurprisingly was replaced on the hour mark.

    Kieran Trippier – 6: Conceded the free-kick for Spain’s second goal with a rash challenge. Wasn’t effective on the wing, but did his job defensively.

    Jesse Lingard – 6: Fairly quiet game by his own standards. Did try to link up play when on the counter attack, but nothing to trouble the Spaniards.

    Dele Alli: 6 – Like Lingard, played short passes but didn’t have the freedom to showcase his attacking abilities.

    Luke Shaw – 7: Recalled to the starting XI, the Manchester United defender sent out another reminder of his resurgent form when he provided an exquisite pass for England’s opener. Stretchered off in second half.

    Marcus Rashford 7: – Made no mistake to give England the lead and was unlucky not to add to his tally after being stopped thrice by club team-mate David De Gea.

    Harry Kane – 5: May well have been wearing golden boots, but the captain was nowhere near his best that we are used to seeing.

    SUBSTITUTES:

    Danny Rose – 6: Pressed forward whenever he had the ball, but was closely marked by Spain.

    Eric Dier – 6: Replaced Henderson, but didn’t have a big impact.

    Danny Welbeck – N/A: Unlucky not to have scored the equaliser deep into stoppage time.

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