Marcus Rashford delivers verdict on his masterclass in Aston Villa’s FA Cup win over Preston | OneFootball

Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford has described netting his first goals for Aston Villa as a “great feeling.”

Rashford was Villa’s hero as they beat Championship side Preston North End 3-0 on Sunday afternoon to advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Despite enjoying an uptick in form since leaving United in January to join Villa, Rashford had yet to open his goalscoring account for the club.

He broke the deadlock against Preston after 58 minutes, rolling in a low cross from Lucas Digne. Rashford grabbed his second of the match just five minutes later, this time from the penalty spot as he sent goalkeeper David Cornell the wrong way.

Rashford was given 81 minutes before he was taken off by Unai Emery and replaced by Ollie Watkins.

The Carrington academy graduate was named Player of the Match for his heroic performance at Deepdale.

After the final whistle, he spoke to BBC [via ESPN] and said, “It’s a great feeling. I feel like I’ve slowly been getting fitter and playing better football since I’ve been here. So yeah, it’s obviously nice for a forward to always get goals, so hopefully it continues.”

“I think we have to just take it one game at a time and just give 100% on the pitch and we’ll see where it takes us.”

“But I think we’re a very ambitious team. We want to win, we want to try and get as far as we can in all competitions. And we also want to push to get back into the top four.”

Rashford attributed his change in fortunes to playing regularly after a difficult period at United, where Ruben Amorim consistently left him out of the team.

“Step by step. I think I can still get fitter and I’ve missed a lot of football before joining up with them.”

“So at the minute my body feels good and I’m injury free and just enjoying my football. So all good for now.”

Villa return to Premier League action on Wednesday when they go away to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Featured image Stu Forster via Getty Images

Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social