Interesting quote from Rangnick. What really baffles me is that Rashford should really be relishing the opportunity to play in a tactical system like the one RR is trying to implement. When you look at it, he doesn't really possess that many arrows in his quiver: He's not good in tight areas, he can't play with his back to goal or turn his man, his dribbling is always suspicious, and he is neither a natural forward nor a creator.
What he does have though in abundance, is pace off the ball. And you can see that he is constantly looking to be aggressive with early vertical runs down the channels. But when these don't come off, he slowly fades out of the game. But putting the effort in regaining possession/collecting second balls in the middle of the park is actually the best way to create opportunities for himself to receive the ball into space. And with his pace, Rashford can afford to start his run 3-4 steps behind his marker. It's that simple, really: Play with intensity and get rewarded. Just like Elanga does.
There was something Keane said the other day, when he and Gary were discussing Cantona, that rang very true. Roy argued that the best thing about king Eric was that he would always show up for the ball. It didn't matter if he was way outside the box or if he had two bulky centre-halves breathing down his neck, he would always try to provide the deeper players with a passing option. And, Roy added, he did that with conviction, not like "i'm making the obligatory movement, but please don't pass it to me" or "give me the ball, but i'll pass it right back to you because i don't know what to do with it". Keane mentioned how important this was for SAF's plan to work. This, of course, points to a problem that concerns most of our attacking options and not just Rashford. I just think that RR comment alludes to what Keane said.
I am not using this as an excuse, but i believe that, unfortunately for us, the game didn't go as we had planned it. We expected Atleti to concede possession, but they actually achieved to control the proceedings with their off the ball tactical choices. Rashford doesn't get "stuck in" in the midfield battle and his influence wanes dramatically the farther away from goal he has to get on the ball against organized defences. Not the kind of game, against rough defenders and low-blocks, he usually thrives in. Thank God for the 5 changes (and Simeone's reluctance to affect the game proactively when we had Fred as the lone DM and both Pogba/Bruno pushing forward at the start of the second half), because Rahford is rarely the answer when things aren't working well for us.
And that's probably the deeper issue. That we expect him to become a player for us that he can not. We'll see.