Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Roy Keane shares what Marcus Rashford should now be thinking of doing after superb display for Aston Villa against Cardiff
Aston Villa are through to the FA Cup quarter-finals after getting the better of Cardiff City in their fifth-round tie on Friday night.
The Villans dominated from the off, with over 30 touches in the opposition box and five shots on target in the first half, but couldn’t find the opener by the break.
Aston Villa kept plugging away and were eventually rewarded in the 68th minute when Marcus Rashford’s first-time cutback was smashed home by Marco Asensio.
Unai Emery’s charges then ended the game as a contest on 80 minutes when Asensio once again fired in from inside the box, this time from a Leon Bailey delivery.
Rashford is going from strength to strength at Villa since his January loan move from Manchester United.
Roy Keane praised Rashford after the FA Cup game, though he had one bit of feedback for the Red Devils loanee.
Marcus Rashford ‘should be thinking about scoring a few goals himself’
Keane, speaking on , said Rashford is “very good” at setting players up, but claimed he should now look to score himself.
“Villa dominated in every area of the game and it was a matter of time before they scored,” said Keane.
“They probably could’ve scored a few more but Cardiff did well.
“The game became a bit open and that suited Villa. Marcus is very good at doing that [his assist], he had a bit of luck at the end but he needs it.
“A quality player walks onto it. Lovely, well-worked goal but he should be thinking about scoring a few goals himself.
“You want options and Villa have plenty of them. It’s about finding the balance.”
How Marcus Rashford fared against Cardiff
It’s not as though Rashford wasn’t trying to score during the game. He had three shots on target, one off target, and two were blocked.
| Rashford stats v Cardiff | |
| Assists | 1 |
| Touches | 75 |
| Accurate passes | 41/48 (85%) |
| Key passes | 6 |
| Crosses (acc.) | 9 (2) |
| Long balls (acc.) | 2 (1) |
| Big chances created | 2 |
| Shots on target | 3 |
| Shots off target | 1 |
| Shots blocked | 2 |
| Dribble attempts (succ.) | 3 (3) |
| Big chances missed | 2 |
| Ground duels (won) | 8 (4) |
Had Rashford tried to control it, or go for goal, the outcome of the move might have been very different.
Indeed, the outcome of the game could have been different, because his assist for Asensio was for the opener, which came relatively late in the match.
Had that not gone in, Villa’s shoulders may have dropped and Cardiff may have sensed the opportunity to push forward and attempt to nick a late goal.
Three assists from six games is a pretty superb tally, and Emery and the Villa faithful won’t care too much if Rashford isn’t scoring if he’s serving them up on a silver platter.