Keane 'not surprised' by Ten Hag's 'unstoppable' Rashford

Marcus Rashford can be 'unstoppable' when Manchester United play to their strengths, believes Erik ten Hag, and former captain Roy Keane wasn't surprised to see him deliver against Everton on Friday.

Rashford was the star of the show in a 3-1 win that propelled United into the FA Cup fourth round.

The England striker created the opener for Antony at Old Trafford, then showed sublime skill to force Conor Coady to score an own goal which nullified the Everton defender's previous equalizer .

Rashford scored the third goal himself, sending a stoppage time penalty at the end of a display manager Ten Hag described as "90 minutes of threat".

Keane, in his role as an ITV pundit, said: "The beauty of watching Marcus tonight is what I expect from him now. I'm not surprised at what I have. seen.

"He hopefully becomes one of United's key players; can he lead them back to winning trophies? He takes responsibility.

"Tonight, with two assists and a goal, I think I expect that now from Marcus every week. He obviously plays with confidence."

Confidence is undoubtedly key for a player who has scored in five consecutive appearances and seven in a row at Old Trafford, but Ten Hag also underlined the importance of his teammates.

"It's about putting him in the right position," he told a press conference. "He has to, but make sure that as a team we create spaces, so he comes [with] his strengths.

"It's Marcus who is doing very well, but also the team is doing very well to have the right form.

"So he can bring his strength, and then I think he's unstoppable, with his speed, with his dribbling, with his frankness."

Ten Hag, like Keane, is confident Rashford can maintain those high standards going forward as United maintain a four-pronged interest this season.

"Of course, as a striker, you measure goals [and] assists," added Ten Hag. "Today he had two assists and a goal, so that's great.

"He has fantastic skills, and when he has that mental stability he can keep going.

"It demands a lot, first of him, but also of us as a team, organization, to make sure we have the right environment, the right culture. When he stays focused like that, I'm sure that he can continue this process."