Michael Owen has firmly placed the blame at the feet of a Man United star for his role in Phil Foden’s equaliser in Sunday’s Manchester derby.
United went 1-0 up thanks to an unbelievable strike from Marcus Rashford, but there was a sense of inevitability in the air, and it came to fruition when Foden found the back of the net to square things up before City went on the rampage and got two more.
However, despite his earlier heroics, Owen blames Rashford for “lying on the floor” in the build up to the goal.
Michael Owen on Marcus Rashford
Contesting for a long ball with Kyle Walker, the England striker went down easily and claimed he should have had a foul. As the play continued, Foden found the net at the other end to level the score.
Despite protests from both the striker and his manager Erik ten Hag which ultimately lead to him being booked, Owen doesn’t see much of a case for them.
“I thought it was correct nothing was given,” he said on Optus Sport. “I don’t know why Marcus Rashford was trying to run across his man to start with, he wasn’t even in control of the ball.
“Surely you’ve got to control the ball first and the cut across your man.
“I felt it was called spot on. And, actually, he would have been back in this position (defending for the Foden goal) to potentially cut that ball out. He’s been lying on the ground for a minute or so.
“If he was back in, his position should be there, if he wasn’t lying on the floor prior to that. So he might have been able to prevent that goal.”
Paul Scholes believes Walker’s pace played a psychological role in the incident, with Rashford feeling unconfident in a one-on-one with the flying right back: “I thought he was just worried about Kyle Walker,” said Scholes.
“He forgot about the ball and thinks ‘I got to get in front of Kyle Walker’. It happened two or three times. He’s conscious of Kyle Walker. And Kyle Walker, at the minute, has that influence on people because he’s so quick.”
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