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Marcus Rashford sends message after Aston Villa masterclass, Asensio and Rogers react
Aasif Rahman
3 – 4 minutes
(Credit: Aston Villa on Youtube / Imago)
Aasif Rahman
Sat 1 March 2025 11:38, UK
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AS Monaco are in something of a crisis heading into Tuesday night’s Champions League clash against Aston Villa. Despite being in the respectable position of fourth in Ligue 1, Adi Hutter’s side have only won one of their last eight matches in all competitions and that victory came against lower league side Union Saint-Jean in the French Cup. Excluding that routine 4-1 win, Monaco have only claimed victory in one of their last 10. Powered by Their young side hasn’t fully recovered from their last defeat to Benfica at home matchweek five of the Champions League league phase. They were winning 2-1 until goals from Arthur Cabral and then Zeki Amdouni turned the game around in the final stages. READ | Why Ollie Watkins ‘got a bit frustrated’ as striker closes in on Aston Villa history READ | Aston Villa’s dream transfer window as five sign and seven leave in January Then, following a defeat at Marseille and a win over Toulouse in the league, Monaco lost 3-0 at Arsenal in matchweek six. It leaves them 16th in the league phase table, but only three points behind Villa in fifth place. After that loss at the Emirates Stadium, Monaco played out a 0-0 draw with Reims before they suffered defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the league and cup either side of beating Union Saint-Jean. Failure to beat Nantes and then being knocked out of the French Cup via penalties against Reims meant Monaco’s trip to Montpellier was a ‘must win’ to get them back on track. “I think this is the right match to motivate the whole team just before the Champions League,” Mohamed Salisu said before the game. “It is a very important match to get an energy boost and regain confidence in order to best prepare for the match against Aston Villa. We believe in ourselves and we want to take the three points. “We have no doubts, football is about ups and downs depending on the period. We are currently in a bad moment and we have to fight to get back to the top. The season had started very well and we were in good form, we just need to believe in what we are doing on the pitch and listen to the coach’s tactical advice to get back to our level.” But Monaco fell to a shock 2-1 defeat against Jean-Louis Gasset’s Montepellier and Hutter claimed the important match with Villa wasn’t in the minds of his players. Powered by “Today, it’s more than a big disappointment, it’s a real gut punch for us and everyone at the club,” Hutter said after full-time. “At the start of the season, the wins were stacking up, everyone was happy. I have been in professional football for 35 years as a player before and as a coach now. It is not the first time this has happened to me and the main thing I have learned is to stay positive, work on the details and help the team.” Asked if he thought that the Champions League match against Villa could have affected the team’s mentality, Hutter responded: “I don’t think so, I have the feeling that the team was completely focused on this match. You could see that in the first half, we wanted to make the difference quickly but we missed too many chances. In the second half, we wanted to score the second goal but we made an individual error. We then had no right to concede another goal. “We tried to come back after with several chances in the last minutes but it was too little. I have a lot of respect for Montpellier but we needed to impose ourselves to regain confidence. Tuesday will be a completely different match, it’s the Champions League at home, but I don’t think the team already had Aston Villa in mind.” What is your Monaco vs Villa score prediction? Tell us here READ NEXT: Louie Barry makes transfer decision as Aston Villa told he’s ‘ready’ to accept deal Aston Villa transfer news with latest on Garcia and Bade as trio could leave I visited huge new Midland charity shop and wished the previous store never shut down Marks & Spencer has £29.50 ‘best alternative’ to Levi’s that’s £80 cheaper Aston Villa favourite could join Premier League rivals Man City ‘on loan’ Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
January 20, 2025
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Marcus Rashford shared a positive message after Aston Villa’s FA Cup victory over Cardiff City, as speculation about his future continues to grow.
Aston Villa secured their place in the next round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win, thanks to another brace from Marco Asensio.
Rashford, who provided two assists for Asensio against Chelsea, was at it again—delicately setting up the Spaniard after a lofted ball in-behind, who finished with confidence.
Football Insider revealed that Barcelona and Bayern Munich have now entered the race to sign Rashford following his short but impressive spell at Villa Park. However, the England international has shown no signs of being distracted by transfer speculation, remaining fully focused on his new club.
Marcus Rashford is on loan at Aston Villa from Man United
Marcus Rashford has impressed since his move to Aston Villa in the January window (Credit Imago).
Marco Asensio and Morgan Rogers react to Marcus Rashford’s message to Aston Villa fans
Rashford took to Instagram after the win, sharing pictures from the match with the caption: “Into the next round.”
Marcus Rashford on Instagram.
View Instagram Post
Former Manchester United teammates, including Andre Onana and Diogo Dalot, liked the post, while current Aston Villa players such as Morgan Rogers and Asensio also showed their support by reacting and liking his message.
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Since arriving at the club, Rashford has impressed for Aston Villa with his performances, consistently posing a threat from the left-hand side. However, only two of his six appearances so far have been starts, despite his strong contributions.
Still, according to Mick Brown, who worked as a scout at Villa and the chief scout at Man United, he exclusively told Football Insider that Aston Villa are putting in place plans to make Rashford’s loan move permanent already.
Season Stats Rashford at Aston Villa Rashford at Man United
Appearances 6 24
Goals 0 7
Assists 3 3
Marcus Rashford in 2024/25 in all competitions.
Unai Emery urged to trust Rashford amid Barcelona and Bayern Munich interest
Rashford was keen on a move to Barcelona in January, but a deal failed to materialise, leading to his switch to Unai Emery’s side instead.
While he is yet to score for Villa, he has already registered three assists, all of which have led to goals for fellow loanee Asensio.
Despite initial doubts over the move, Rashford appears to have settled well at Villa Park. Now, with interest from European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich continuing to swirl, the next step is earning Emery’s trust and securing a regular place in the sta
rting XI.