Marcus Rashford has hit out at VAR after his record-breaking goal was ruled out in Manchester United ’s win over Reading on Saturday night.
United reached the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Championship side at Old Trafford. Casemiro was the star of the show, scoring twice before Fred made the game safe with a near-post flick which ensured that Amadou Mbengue’s header was a mere consolation for Reading.
The match was a rare occasion in that it did not contain a goal from the in-form Rashford, who came into the game with 10 goals in 10 games since the World Cup. The 25-year-old was aiming to make United history against Reading – and he came very close.
Rashford thought he had broken the deadlock when he stooped to head in Wout Weghorst ’s knock-down at the back post. The goal was initially given, which would have seen Rashford become the first player in United history to score in 10 consecutive home matches.
However, the VAR chalked off the goal because it determined that Weghorst had been offside in the build-up. That is despite the fact that C asemiro's pass had not been intended for him and had been deflected into his path by a Reading defender.
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Writing on Twitter after the game, Rashford said: “Unfortunately, VAR got the better of me again today. That's 3 times this season (angry emoji). Breaking the record for consecutive goals at OT would have been incredible, but I'm proud to have equalled Dennis Viollet’s record.”
In another post he simply wrote: “Solid team performance to progress into the next round.”
The end of his home scoring streak at Old Trafford means Rashford remains level with Dennis Viollet as having netted in nine straight home matches for the club. Viollet did so way back in 1959 in a campaign which saw him score 32 times in a league season – another United record.
The striker ended up with 179 goals in 293 appearances for United – an impressive tally which makes him the club’s joint-fourth highest goalscorer alongside George Best.
Despite his VAR grievance, Rashford remains in dazzling form, having failed to find the back of the net in just two of his 11 games in all competitions since returning from Qatar. He has 18 goals in 30 appearances altogether this season – 12 more than second-top scorer Bruno Fernandes.
The win over Reading owed a lot to the finishing prowess of Casemiro. The Brazilian was signed from Real Madrid in the summer for his ball-winning ability, but showed great skill to dink Antony’s pass over the goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
He curled into the bottom corner from range to double the lead, before substitute Fred turned in Fernandes’ cross with style for 3-0.
