Manchester United were restricted to a 0-0 draw by relegation-threatened Southampton, demonstrating their inability to get past their Premier League nightmare from the previous week.

On the surface, that may seem like a bad outcome, but Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils did well to avoid conceding despite Casemiro’s straight red card in the 34th minute.

In the end, it was a very even game that either team could have won, making a draw a fair outcome.

It does not mean, however, that the hosts did not have the opportunity to win the game regardless of the score, as the typically lethal Marcus Rashford put on one of his worst performances of the season.

The Manchester-native striker had only failed to score twice in his previous ten attempts and had scored 14 league goals this year. This all adds together to make the performance less than impressive.

How was Marcus Rashford’s performance versus Southampton?

The 25-year-old, who played the entire game, received the lowest rating of any player on the field outside the Brazilian midfielder who was sent off.

According to Sofascore, he only managed to get 41 touches out of his 90 total, with just one shot and zero crucial passes produced throughout the entire game.

The longer the game went on, the more frustrated Rashford felt and the more desperate he became to attempt something different in the hopes that it could work. As a result, he would mishandle the ball 17 times while attempting to dribble twice but failing.

The English forward made a shameless dive in an attempt to buy himself a victory, which may have been the pinnacle of his suffering today. The goalkeeper confronted him as he raced toward goal and, despite their being a clear gap between them, threw himself to the ground as he attempted to round him.

Naturally, the yell was ignored, but many thought he was fortunate to avoid receiving any further reprimands. On Twitter, even the writer Kyle Bonn made the same claim: “Marcus Rashford with a miserably blatant dive. The Manchester United attacker’s performance there is abhorrent. Amazing that he has avoided being arrested.

Although Casemiro’s dismissal from the game may have garnered the most attention, there has been considerable discussion over how aggressive Casemiro actually intended his undoubtedly overly enthusiastic challenge on Carlos Alcaraz to be. Although it was stupid, it wasn’t malicious.

Rashford, who has captured many fans’ hearts this season, would probably have let them down in particular since he tried to cheat his way to victory.