Marcus Rashford’s 100th Manchester United goal was enough to beat West Ham United and provide a fitting tribute to a special 85th anniversary for the Old Trafford club.
Across 4,163 consecutive games since 1937, United have had an unbroken run of having a player who came through their youth development programme either in their starting line-up or on the bench.
Rashford is the cream of the current crop and it was the England player who scored the winner against a determined West Ham side at Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old powered home a firm header seven minutes from the break after Christian Eriksen had curled over a superb far-post cross, making Rashford the 22nd United player to reach 100 goals.
“It’s been on my mind the last couple of games,” Rashford told Sky Sports. “I’ve been waiting for it to come and thankfully it did.
He added: “It’s a completely different energy around the club and the training ground. That puts me in a better headspace and I just feel really motivated now.
“I was struggling at times with more mental things. It wasn’t really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That’s the biggest difference from last season.
“Too often last season, I wasn’t in the right headspace for games. I wasn’t surprised by some of the stuff that was happening.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s name is naturally also on the list of players with 100 goals but having been given a starting spot because of Antony’s injury, the Portugal forward failed to capitalise, wasting one excellent second-half opportunity after he had been sent into the penalty area by Rashford.
In a thrilling finish, David de Gea made fantastic saves to deny Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma, before, with almost the final move of the game, the goalkeeper surplus to Spain’s requirements turned away a thunderous Declan Rice effort.
The result was enough for the home side to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches and go fifth in the table, while West Ham’s inconsistency outside European competition leaves them 13th, just three points above the relegation zone.
