Gary Neville believes Marcus Rashford's late strike against West Ham 'brought joy to him' and labels the goal as a 'big moment', as pundit admits the forward looked 'drained' during his Manchester United rut

  • Marcus Rashford scored a late winner for Manchester United against West Ham
  • The striker netted for the second game in a row and came after his rough patch 
  • Gary Neville was pleased to see the goal give Rashford some much needed 'joy' 
  • However, the pundit has also admitted the forward has looked 'drained' at times 

Gary Neville believes that Marcus Rashford has rediscovered his passion at Manchester United, after the forward scored for the second successive game in the last-gasp victory against West Ham at the weekend.

Rashford netted a stoppage-time winner at Old Trafford to seal the three points for Ralf Rangnick's side, having arrived at the far post with the last kick of the game to tuck home Edinson Cavani's low cross. 

The effort came days after he also added to his tally at Brentford, and pundit Neville is now keen to see him kick on, with the striker having been forced to battle against claims that off-field matters were affecting his performances.

Gary Neville was pleased to see Marcus Rashford's late winner against West Ham 'bring joy'

Gary Neville was pleased to see Marcus Rashford's late winner against West Ham 'bring joy'

'The thing for me about Marcus Rashford, when I saw him celebrate that goal, it brought joy to him,' he said on his Sky Sports podcast.


'I think that's the most important thing when you're a football player - passion and joy. I'm not saying you have to walk around with a smile on your face. I either want to see joy, or passion, or fire. I don't want to see that face of nothing. 

'I think Marcus, over the past couple of months or so, he's just looked drained in his face of any energy, of any spirit. That can't happen. 

Rashford arrived at the far post to tap in a cross and seal a crucial victory in the top four race

Rashford arrived at the far post to tap in a cross and seal a crucial victory in the top four race

Pundit Neville says that the strike could prove to be a 'big moment' for the forward after his rut

Pundit Neville says that the strike could prove to be a 'big moment' for the forward after his rut

'You can have fire, you can have anger, you can have joy, you can have all those different emotions, but you can't have a lack of emotion. 

'I think it was a big moment for Marcus, and hopefully now gives him the confidence to rise again, puff his chest out, and do the things that he does, because he's an excellent striker and an excellent forward.'

Rashford's dramatic strike was his fourth in the Premier League this season, and the 24-year-old also missed the first two months of the campaign, having undergone shoulder surgery to correct a long-standing issue.

He was unable to hit his usual heights after returning, however, and even endured a goal drought which reached 11 games before his recent purple patch.

Rashford's tap-in was his fourth Premier League goal of the season, as he looks to now kick on

Rashford's tap-in was his fourth Premier League goal of the season, as he looks to now kick on

Neville has labelled the strike as a 'big one' for the player, and also insisted that the accusations dogging his poor performances were not fair.

He added: 'The goal in the last minute is a big one. It's a big one for the club, big one for the squad. A big one for the scorer. I think it was really important. 

'There were a lot of questions being asked of Marcus Rashford. I'm not quite sure it's fair, it was suggested he'd been distracted by off-field events as soon as he has a difficult patch. 

The three points for United sent Ralf Rangnick's side into fourth spot, above their opponents

The three points for United sent Ralf Rangnick's side into fourth spot, above their opponents

'That's the easy thing to say because no one knows why it's a difficult patch. It could be a difficult patch because of a number of different reasons - it could be injury, loss of form, confidence, the team not playing well. 

'But it's the easy thing to do, isn't it, to point towards the off field stuff. It was a big thing for him.' 

United's victory saw them move above West Ham and into fourth. They are next in action in the top-flight against Burnley early next month.