Captain midfielder Bruno Fernandes explained the reason for Marcus Rashford to take the penalty kick for MU in the 3-0 victory over Everton.

The English striker reached 30 goals last season. But before the trip to Everton’s stadium, he only had 1 goal in the 2023/24 season.

And Rashford was able to double those goals when captain Fernandes let him take the penalty in the 56th minute. He made no mistake to increase the score to 2-0 for MU.

When asked about the reason for giving the penalty kick to Rashford, Fernandes told Sky Sports: “Because I feel Marcus needs a little confidence, needs goals.”

“Marcus is also an excellent penalty taker. I’m 100% sure he can score the goal. It’s not about who takes the penalty but scoring the goal and Marcus took it it’s perfect.”

Rashford has faced a lot of uncomfortable questions this season after signing a lucrative new contract at Old Trafford. But Fernandes says none of the 26-year-old’s teammates have ever doubted his quality.

Rashford scored his second goal since the beginning of the season after successfully converting a penalty

“Obviously with the strikers, they want to score, they need to score. It’s part of their game and it gives them motivation. After the penalty, Marcus was unstoppable – he could take down all opponents.”

“I think sometimes he needs this opportunity to get his confidence back. But Marcus has been fantastic for us. Obviously last season he was fantastic, so people have expectations going into the season.” This prize is higher. It’s just a matter of helping him regain his confidence and everyone will see that he is world class again.”

Coach Erik ten Hag added to BBC Match of the Day about Rashford: “You have seen how great captain Bruno is. He assessed his teammates needed that goal. He has faith in Rashy, a person good at taking penalties. As a team, you need leadership to support each other. We have to go step by step. This is one step.”

The victory for Man United helped them maintain 6th place in the Premier League rankings. Erik ten Hag’s army is currently only 4 points behind fourth-placed team Aston Villa and 6 points behind leading team Arsenal. They will have an important match against Galatasaray in the Champions League at dawn next Thursday.