If it wasn't for a ridiculous caveat in the handball rules, Marcus Rashford would have already beaten his Manchester United scoring record from last season. The English forward only notched five goals across all competitions during the last campaign, but he would have had six already had his controversial disallowed goal stood at Goodison Park on Sunday night.
Rashford has gone somewhat under the radar for United so far this season, overshadowed by the arrival of Antony on the opposite flank and the rejuvenated form of Anthony Martial through the middle. When you throw Cristiano Ronaldo's situation into the mix and listen to calls for Alejandro Garnacho to be playing more often, it is quite easy to forget just how impressive Rashford's own record has been.
In nine matches played, five goals were scored and three assists were grabbed. He, perhaps controversially, won the Premier League Player of the Month award for September, despite just two appearances in the period, though he most certainly deserved the nomination at the very least.
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The tricky dilemma when analysing Rashford's performances this season is that those stats can often be misleading. He has only actually had any goal involvement in four of those nine appearances this season, with those figures bloated by an impressive performance against Omonia Nicosia and a rather fortuitous brace against Arsenal.
He, like most others, was anonymous against Brighton and Brentford and was found out in the toughest test of the season so far when they were thrashed by Manchester City just over a week ago.
With reoccurring injury worries for Martial and the acceptance that Ronaldo will leave next year, Rashford has once again been touted as a possibility through the middle, his impressive numbers cited as an endorsement of his potential potency.
It's not necessarily the case, though. While he started the wins over Arsenal and Liverpool as a centre-forward, all of his goals this season have actually come when he has been playing on the left in matches.
His goal against Liverpool came after Martial had been introduced in the central role at half-time, and the brace against Arsenal came once Ronaldo had entered the fray. His two goals and assist against Omonia were the same, with Rashford replacing Jadon Sancho on the wing at half-time.
In fact, the only goal involvement that came with the 24-year-old playing as a striker was his assist at Leicester, as part of a fluid forward line that had Sancho and Anthony Elanga either side of him.
The harsh truth is that Rashford still isn't doing it as a centre-forward this season, even if the stats initially suggest that he is, though it isn't actually a problem either.
He is quite clearly high on confidence right now and is benefitting from the faith shown in him by Erik ten Hag to keep the left-wing role, despite serious competition from Sancho.
Rashford has always harboured a desire to lead the line for United, but he remains a greater threat when used in an inverted role on the flank, given that it allows him to run at full-backs and, more often than not, get shots at goal with his much-preferred right foot.
While there is always a desire to get more from a player, the United academy graduate is best when he sticks to what he is good at, and it is perhaps little surprise that his rejuvenated run of form has come as a result of getting back to basics.
In the long run, Ten Hag might well have plans to transform Rashford into a more static focal point, but right now he would benefit most from consistency in regular playing time across one fixed position.
It's not a time for Rash decisions.
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