Why Anthony Elanga has replaced Marcus Rashford

For the time being, a changing of the guard…

Anthony Elanga was largely unknown in the football world a year ago, but he is now a regular at Manchester United. This is primarily due to his own talent and hard effort, but Marcus Rashford’s form cannot be overlooked.

Rashford has been one of Manchester United’s finest players for the past five years, but something hasn’t been right for the duration of this season.

This was well summed up on Tuesday night when United defeated Brighton 2-0.

Elanga onto the field ahead of Rashford for the game, and he performed admirably.

He didn’t score or assist, but he executed Ralf Rangnick’s strategy flawlessly. He would quickly push Brighton’s central defenders, which almost resulted in a goal on two occasions, one of which saw Lewis Dunk sent off.

Rashford then came on for the final 15 minutes of the game, looking nothing like the player United fans have come to adore.

Anthony Elanga vs. Marcus Rashford

He didn’t appear to want to get on the ball, and when he did, he didn’t appear to want to race. He wasn’t going after his man, and he wasn’t running off the ball.

Elanga, on the other hand, was occupied every moment he was on the field. He was eager and lightning fast, and he demonstrated to Rangnick that he can be relied on to execute what is requested of him.

Rashford is unquestionably a more technically gifted footballer than Elanga. He possesses greater abilities and a more powerful blow. He is also smarter, which is to be anticipated given that Elanga is still only 19 years old.

He can do things with a ball that Elanga would never dare, but until he returns to his former ways, expect the young Swede to start ahead of him.

Perhaps both of them will start against Leeds this Saturday, to counteract the hard running that the Leeds players will undoubtedly perform.