Harry Maguire defends Man Utd team-mate Marcus Rashford after forward drops another woeful performance against Newcastle

The English forward had a night to forget against Newcastle United as he made as many as 11 mistakes - which were listed down by a frustrated fan after the match - as United suffered yet another defeat in the Premier League on Saturday.

Despite a poor show at St. James' Park, former club captain Maguire came to the defence of his colleague as he claimed that Rashford is just experiencing a rough patch of form after a terrific 2022/23 campaign with the team.

Speaking to reporters after the match, the defender said, "Marcus had an unbelievable season last season. This season, it hasn't clicked for him. He's working hard. Everyone in that dressing room knows what he's about."

He added, "It's been a tough week with three away days in six days. To be fair, in the first half, we looked like we'd played our third away day in six days.

"The tempo wasn't there, the intensity wasn't there. They were a lot better than us. We grew into the game, but we didn't have enough in the end."

Manager Erik ten Hag refused to speak about his striker's performance in public as he stated after the match that he would prefer to speak to the player directly in private.

After a stellar performance last season where he scored 17 Premier League goals and played a crucial role in his team finishing in the top four, the 26-year-old has struggled to find form in the ongoing campaign having scored just twice across all competitions.

Erik ten Hag's side are scheduled to play four matches in their next 14 days which include fixtures against Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.