Football
Rob Dawson, Correspondent 7y

Marcus Rashford: Anthony Martial competition is helping me improve

MANCHESTER -- Marcus Rashford has said competition with Anthony Martial at Manchester United is making him a better player.

Manager Jose Mourinho has rotated between the two so far this season, with Rashford starting three of the first five games and Martial the other two.

Mourinho picked Martial in his starting XI for the 3-0 Champions League win over Basel on Tuesday before Rashford came off the bench to score for the third game in a row.

He has only selected the two together nine times in 70 games, and Rashford believes the friendly rivalry is positive.

He told MUTV: "It's difficult when you're in and out of the team, but we have to find the positives out of it and I think we have both done that.

"I think the competition is always positive competition because we're improving each other every day when we're in training, and in the games we're pushing each other more and more.

"It's a bit of a headache for the manager, but it is a good headache to have."

Rashford's goal against the Swiss champions made his case for a return to the team against Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday.

It appears unlikely, however, that Paul Pogba will be available after the France international left the stadium on crutches following a hamstring injury.

And Rashford said: "Paul's going to be a massive miss, and hopefully we can get him back fit as soon as possible."

Rashford continued his run of debut goals by netting on his first appearance in the Champions League.

The 19-year-old also scored on his United debut, European debut, Europa League debut, Premier League debut, League Cup debut, England under-21 debut and England senior debut.

He said: "It's a good feeling to finish off scoring on my debut. I am happy with the goal, but most of all happy with the three points. It's a solid performance for us to build on.

"Every team that we face, they're going to be able to play and cause us problems.

"We have to respect them and we have to defend in the right manner and try to cause them problems going the other way."

Everton's visit at the weekend presents a chance to get back to winning ways in the Premier League after the 2-2 draw with Stoke on Saturday.

"We have to play every game to win. If we want to be the champions, then we have to win those types of games," Rashford said.

"It's going to be difficult. Everton are a really strong team. They made some good signings in the summer and you know they've got strength all around the pitch."

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