Marcus Rashford made his first start for Manchester United since December 2024 and impressed as Michael Carrick's side beat Ipswich 5-2 at Old Trafford. The forward, who had spent the previous 18 months on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona, was praised by his manager for his contribution on and off the pitch.
Carrick, who had coached Rashford during his time as a coach under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, said the 28-year-old had been "fantastic" since returning to the club three weeks ago. "He's adding to the group for us, for sure," Carrick said. "He's been fantastic since he came back, I have to say, and it was great to see him on the pitch today for us."
Rashford's United career had appeared to be over when he was cut adrift by Ruben Amorim in December 2024. He subsequently spent time on loan at Aston Villa and then Barcelona, with the La Liga side deciding against making the move permanent for £26 million this summer. The forward is now back in the fold at his boyhood club and looks certain to remain beyond the end of the transfer window.
Carrick believes Rashford feels like a new signing given how long he was away. After coming off the bench in the opening weekend defeat at Hull, Rashford started against Ipswich and delivered an impressive performance from the left. "I thought he did particularly well in not easy circumstances, particularly as the game was going through the cycle," Carrick said. "And then second half, it all clicked. I thought he did all-around very good, and he'll only get better."
The match itself saw United recover from an early setback. After falling behind to a Leif Davis goal, Bruno Fernandes led the comeback with a hat-trick. A Jacob Greaves own goal and a late strike from Bryan Mbeumo completed the scoring for the hosts, while Chuka Akpom grabbed a late consolation for the visitors.
Carrick was pleased with the way his side responded to conceding first, particularly given the defeat at Hull in their previous outing. "We spoke before about trying to overcome last week, and then we took a mini setback if you like, going a goal behind," he said. "But showing stubbornness, belief, confidence, and togetherness the boys showed at that stage – in a small part, because we're so early in the season – I think that was really pleasing for me. The way they bounced back, that's probably the biggest thing to take. There's a lot of highlights, but that mentality was what we really relied on today."
Alongside Rashford's return, Carrick highlighted the performance of Kobbie Mainoo, who made his first start of the season after a managed return from World Cup duty. The midfielder controlled the tempo of the game and drew particular praise from his manager. "To put in that performance today shows what Kobbie can do," Carrick told MUTV. "We're fortunate enough to have a really good midfield unit, and we can call upon different players at different times. I was really happy with the way he played today."
Carrick also acknowledged Bruno Fernandes would receive much of the credit for his hat-trick, adding: "I understand Bruno will get a lot of credit today, and he deserves that as well, but I thought Kobbie was immense in the middle of the pitch for us and underpinned the performance."