2016–17 season: European success

Rashford lining up for United in 2016

For the new season, marking his place as part of the senior squad, Rashford was given the number
19 by new manager José Mourinho.[29] Rashford scored his first goal of the season on 27 August
2016 against Hull City in tremendous fashion, scoring in the second minute of injury time after
coming on for Juan Mata in the 71st minute.[30] He scored thrice more the next month, on 18
September in a 3–1 league defeat to Watford; on 21 September in a 3–1 victory
against Northampton Town in the EFL Cup third round; and in a 4–1 league win over Leicester
City on 24 September.[31][32][33] The following month he came runner-up to Portugal's Renato
Sanches in the Golden Boy award for best European player under the age of 21, on 24 October.
[34]
 As a player however he failed to score until 7 January 2017 when he scored a four-minute brace
in the FA Cup against Jaap Stam's Reading, which ended 4–0.[35]
Rashford won his third trophy on 26 February in the EFL Cup Final, coming on as a 77th-minute
substitute in the 3–2 victory over Southampton.[36] He was an instrumental part of United's 2–0 win
over league leaders' Chelsea on 16 April, scoring the first goal after seven minutes from Ander
Herrera's through ball.[37] Rashford scored another key goal four days later against Anderlecht in the
107th minute of the Europa League quarter-final second leg in a 2–1 win (3–2 on aggregate),
sending United into the next round.[38] He started in the Europa League Final on 24 May against
Dutch team Ajax, which Manchester United won 2–0 thus earning his fourth, and first European,
trophy.[39] Due to the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimović, Rashford spent the majority of the season on the
wing. He made the most appearances of any United player during the season, playing 53 times. [40][41]

2017–18 season
Rashford in 2017

Rashford made his first appearance of his second full senior season on 8 August 2017 against Real
Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup as a 46th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat.[42] He started in a 4–0
home win against West Ham United five days later on 13 August, providing the assist for Romelu
Lukaku's opening goal.[43] Rashford scored his first goal of the season on 26 August, the opener in a
2–0 victory over Leicester, three minutes after coming on as a substitute. [44] On 12 September,
Rashford scored against Basel on his UEFA Champions League debut, the third in a 3–0 win,
marking the sixth competition that he has scored in on his debut. [45] He scored a brace against Burton
Albion on 20 September in EFL Cup third round, as well as assisting the fourth goal in a 4–1 victory.
[46]

On 23 October, Rashford came third in the 2017 Golden Boy award behind winner Kylian
Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.[47] By 28 October, Rashford had contributed to 12 goals in 16
games, with seven goals and five assists, with his most recent goal being against Huddersfield
Town on 21 October and his most recent assist coming against Swansea City on 24 October.[48][49] On
10 March 2018, Rashford scored both goals in a 2–1 win over rivals Liverpool on his first Premier
League start of the year.[50] Rashford scored in United's last game of the season on 13 May, a 1–0
victory over Watford at Old Trafford.[51]

2018–19 season
In August 2018, prior to the 2018–19 season, Rashford was given the squad number 10, after the
release of the club's previous number 10 – Zlatan Ibrahimović. [52] On 2 September, Rashford was
sent off in a 2–0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor after clashing heads with Phil Bardsley.[53] Rashford
scored his first goal of the season on 29 September, United's only goal in a 3–1 loss to West Ham
United.[54] On 3 November, he scored again, providing a winning goal in the second minute of
stoppage time in a 2–1 win over AFC Bournemouth.[55] On 1 December, Rashford provided both
assists in United's 2–2 draw with Southampton, with the goals coming from Romelu Lukaku and
Ander Herrera.[56] The following Saturday against Fulham, he provided two assists for Ashley
Young and Juan Mata before scoring the final goal in a 4–1 victory.[57] On 12 December, Rashford
came on as 57th-minute substitute for Brazilian midfielder Fred and scored a header in the 87th
minute in a 2–1 loss to Spanish team Valencia in the final group stage match of the Champions
League.[58]
On 22 December, Rashford scored in the third minute of Manchester United's first match under Ole
Gunnar Solskjær, in which United beat Cardiff City 5–1.[59] On 30 December, Rashford scored
against Bournemouth again in his final game of 2018, also assisting Paul Pogba's first goal in
United's 4–1 victory.[60] During United's first match of 2019 on 2 January, Rashford assisted the Red
Devils' first goal from a free kick and scored the second in a 2–0 win over Newcastle United at St
James' Park.[61] On 13 January, Rashford scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Tottenham
Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.[62] He scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season on 19
January in a 2–1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion.[63] On 2 February, Rashford was announced as
Manchester United's Player of the Month for January 2019, [64] as well as winning United's goal of the
month for his strike against Tottenham. [65] A day later, he made his 100th league appearance for the
club and scored the only goal in a 1–0 away victory over Leicester City. In doing so, he became the
second-youngest player after Ryan Giggs to reach the milestone for the club.[66][67] His impressive
performance in January earned him his first Premier League Player of the Month title,[68] becoming
the first United player since Ibrahimović in December 2016 to win the monthly league award. [69] On 6
March, Rashford scored from his first competitive penalty to seal a 3–1 win in the second leg of
their Champions League round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain to send the club through to the
quarter-final on the away goals rule; he also contributed to Lukaku's equaliser, who scored off the
rebound of Rashford's initial shot.[70] On 30 March Rashford scored the opening goal in United's first
victory with Solskjær as permanent manager, beating Watford 2–1. [71]

2019–20 season
On 1 July 2019, Rashford signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United, keeping him at
the club until June 2023, with the option to extend by a further year. [72] On the opening week of the
season, Rashford scored a brace in a 4–0 win over Chelsea. [73] In September 2019, following a spell
of poor form, Solskjær said he was not concerned about Rashford's dip in form and lack of goals.
[74]
 Towards the end of October, a return to form saw Rashford score in a 1–1 North West
derby draw, ending rival's Liverpool's 17 match winning streak. [75] The following week, Rashford
scored and assisted against Norwich City,[76] and scored a second brace against Chelsea in the EFL
Cup.[77] The return to form sparked by the Liverpool goal saw Rashford go on the best goalscoring
run of his career to date, scoring 16 club goals in 20 matches, [78] ending the run with a brace in a 4–0
victory over Norwich City.[79] Rashford suffered a double stress fracture to the back in the following
game, an FA Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, which put him out of action for several
months.[80]
In May 2020, manager Solskjær announced that Rashford would be fit to play following the return to
football during project restart.[81] On 4 July, he scored his first goal since the restart as United beat
Bournemouth 5–2.[82] On 16 July, he scored his 17th Premier League goal of the season in a 2–0
victory against Crystal Palace, equalling his tally in the two previous seasons combined. [83] At the end
of season, Rashford was voted third for the English FWA Footballer of the Year award,[84] he also
received the PFA Merit Award.[85]

2020–21 season
On 26 September 2020, Rashford scored his first goal of the season in a 3–2 win against Brighton &
Hove Albion.[86] On 20 October 2020, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away win against PSG in
the first match of the 2020–21 Champions League.[87] In the next Champions League match,
Rashford scored his first United hat-trick in a 5–0 win over RB Leipzig;[88] it was the second hat-trick
ever scored by a United substitute, following manager Solskjær in the Premier League in 1999.[89] He
became the sixth United player to score a Champions League hat-trick, and the first since Robin van
Persie in 2014.[90]
International career
Youth
In 2012, Rashford was invited to an England under-16 training camp,[91] and was later selected to
play in the Victory Shield against Northern Ireland under-16s in September,[92] and Wales under-
16s in October.[93]
Three weeks after making his senior début for United in early 2016, Rashford made his first
appearance for the England under-20 team, providing an assist for Kasey Palmer in a 2–1 defeat
to Canada under-20s.[94] Despite already making his senior début earlier in the year, Rashford was
called up to the England under-21 team for the first time in August 2016 for a fixture in September
against Norway under-21s.[95] He scored a hat-trick in a 6–1 in his only appearance for the team. [96]