Man United fans slam Marcus Rashford for his ‘lazy’ lack of effort after video of his half-hearted closing down against Chelsea goes viral, in a nightmare half-hour cameo which saw win turn to loss

Manchester United fans have criticised Marcus Rashford for his lack of defensive effort after the club’s 4-3 defeat against Chelsea.

After scoring a career-best 30 goals in all competitions last season the 26-year-old has struggled to replicate such form this term and was dropped for the visit to Stamford Bridge.

The England international’s lacklustre performances on the pitch have been further marred by incidents away from football, including a now-infamous 12-hour bender in Belfast back in January that saw him miss a training session prior to an FA Cup match.

In response to growing discontent from the club’s fanbase, the England international hit back at those questioning his commitment to United in an editorial last month.

However, despite assurances that he is giving his all for his boyhood club, some United fans on social media are not convinced after circulating a clip from the defeat at Chelsea on Thursday.

After coming on as a second-half substitute, Rashford came under fire for his ‘pressing’ at Stamford Bridge

In the clip, Rashford can be seen trailing Blues talisman Cole Palmer after he received the ball but does not attempt to make a challenge to win back possession.

The grievances from United fans comes just weeks after similar complaints were shared online after United’s narrow 2-1 win over Luton.

At Kenilworth Road, Hatters midfielder Ross Barkley easily found his way past Rashford, while the forward made no attempt to make a tackle.

In a post that has since received over one million views on X, one supporter claimed the clip was indicative of Rashford’s general performances for the club this season.

‘He was never a good pressing player and he was never good on the defensive side, he was always a liability on our squad when the opposition attacked us!’ The fan wrote.

‘But he was performing on the attack and somehow he was able to make for his lack of defensive effort, but with this stats of this season.. and him jogging on the field just like he is in training is the reason why i think is for the best for both parties to move on from each other. 

‘I know he is a local boy, and he loves the club… but man he needs to wake up or he needs to get away from our club, us as fans can’t defend him anymore, we can’t get behind him with this kind of performance, we see no desire no passion nothing!!! 

‘That’s shocking for a player that is entering his ‘’prime’’ Dear @MarcusRashford wake up, or please get out of our beloved club!’

Other embittered fans agreed with the assessment, with one writing: ‘People saying “typical, just blame rashford” it’s not all on him but if he was pressing aggressively from the front in the 20 mins he was on, Chelsea would have found it significantly harder to get possession in our half. No coincidence they grew in to the game after he came on.’

A further fan branded Rashford ‘lazy’ for his tracking, while another agreed: ‘Is it just me but Marcus Rashford is so lazy. The last 2 games I’ve seen he’s played in both times he just wastes so many chances.’ 

A further fan questioned why one of Rashford’s teammates had not questioned him on his defensive responsibilities: ‘Why is Bruno or other senior players not pulling him up on this? Roy Keane would explode if he saw a team mate putting in so little effort.’