Rashford vs Mbappe – World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus compares lethal Man Utd and PSG youngsters
SunSport's European football expert wants England starlet Rashford to prove he can become an Old Trafford legend
EVERYONE saw Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup.
He was the player we were all talking about and when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo retire we will see Mbappe as the next king of football.
But when I watch Marcus Rashford, I also see a real talent.
IMPACT
When Rashford emerged he seemed to score in the first minutes of all his games — his Premier League debut, his first game in Europe, then when he pulled on an England shirt.
Mbappe showed at Monaco he was special. PSG paid an awful lot of money, but he is now a World Cup winner, the best young player in the world.
THREAT
Mbappe knows what to do at the right moment. I’ve never seen anybody with his speed. He is already the fastest player in football.
And he’s not just fast. He picks the right option, controls the ball, dribbles like nobody else and knows how to score. That is special.
Rashford is a fantastic player already. He has speed, skill, movement, heading ability and knows how to get into the box and finish.
Rashford is not just a No 9, either. He can drop in, or play wide, using his pace and intelligence.
ROLE
If I was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, I would always have Rashford as my first choice as the main striker — not Romelu Lukaku — in the big games.
I couldn’t understand why he was not playing more under Jose Mourinho. In the World Cup, Mbappe drove defences crazy, but PSG need him now, in the matches that really matter.
He has to prove himself the leader, especially with Neymar missing.
FUTURE
Mbappe is a future Ballon d’Or winner, the successor to Messi and Ronaldo.
But it’s not just talent that makes you ‘the best’. You have to win titles with big teams. Mbappe has to take that next step.
Rashford is a big part of the future for England and United.
He can become an icon of the club. He came up from the youth team and always wanted to wear the red shirt.
Rashford understands the history of the club, feels it inside him.
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VERDICT
PSG are not playing well and they do not have Neymar or Edinson Cavani.
Jose Mourinho was killing the players, but Solskjaer has brought a new mentality to United, making them all feel a part of what he is doing.
PREDICTION
Manchester United 2 PSG 1