Manchester United may well have claimed a vital three points yesterday, but the game was far from a classic as they barely scraped past Aston Villa.
It took Bruno Fernandes' finish late in the first half to separate the sides, and it would prove to be the decisive action in the end as Unai Emery's side could not muster an equaliser as the game finished 1-0.
Whilst the Portuguese maestro continues his blistering form, the clash actually was overshadowed by yet another disappointing afternoon for Marcus Rashford, who has gone off the boil of late despite enjoying some incredible mid-season performances.
Having started up front, it still feels like the England international is yet to fully recover from his injury, with Erik ten Hag happy to utilise a weaker version of the wide man as an improvement on others in that role.
However, it has seen his statistics drop off a cliff. For a period, the £200k-per-week wizard scored ten goals in as many games in the Premier League. That has now dropped to just two in his last eight. Even his role in the goal yesterday was branded as "unorthodox" by journalist Laurie Whitwell.
A win will always remain the priority, and by claiming that the Red Devils will be pleased. Despite that, the drop-off in form for their star man will remain a worry until he can recapture that scoring touch.
How did Marcus Rashford play vs Aston Villa?
It was a testament to his poor display that the Dutchman actually hooked the speedster with just over five minutes to go, opting for Anthony Martial to see out the game.
This was far from a surprising turn of events though, as the 25-year-old had recorded just 24 touches during his time on the pitch and six passes. Even David De Gea in the United goal enjoyed more touches (29).
During his small stint on the ball, Rashford was remarkably profligate, as outlined in his 67% pass accuracy, one big chance missed and the fact he finished the game without a goal despite accumulating 0.46 expected goals. This figure was nearly a third of the team's total sum of 1.19, via Sofascore.
To further compound the forward's misery, he would lose 75% of the eight duels competed in and lost possession 13 times. This meant that for every 1.8 touches of the ball, the 5 foot 11 finisher would surrender it.
Yesterday's win solidified their grip on the top four tenfold, so this loss of form is not an immediate worry. However, in rebuilding a brighter future for this historic club, such inconsistency will be a worry for Ten Hag.
