Dimitar Berbatov Tells Manchester United's Marcus Rashford to Be More Selfish

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has told Marcus Rashford to take a more selfish approach in the interest of winning matches, suggesting he tell his team-mates to "f---ing give me the ball" if necessary.

Rashford, 22, captained United when they lost 3-1 at home to Manchester City in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday, scoring the hosts' only goal.

Berbatov—who won two Premier League titles with United—wrote in his Betfair column that speedy Rashford must be more demanding if his midfielders are unable to pick him out:

"If I am as quick as Rashford and make three runs and nobody sees me or gives me the ball, on the fourth one I wouldn't waste my energy; it's all psychological.

"When I was playing, Sir Alex [Ferguson] would say, 'Give Berba the ball, and when you give it to him, don't stay, run, because he's going to find you.' You need to know your team-mates—who is going to pass you the ball and who is going to make the run. These kinds of things are small details, but they are the most important.

"Rashford needs to be strong with his team-mates. If he needs to have an argument on the pitch or shout 'f-----g give me the ball,' do it, it doesn't matter. You need to show character and have that will to win. Argue or fight. It doesn't matter if everything is for the purpose of winning the game, you f-----g do it."

Pep Guardiola's side embarrassed their hosts with a particularly impressive opening 45 minutes, during which goals from Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva gave the Citizens a 3-0 half-time lead:

Berbatov added that he felt "like s--t" after his old club's most recent derby defeat, and Rashford appeared downtrodden himself following the result:

It's unsurprising that a fellow forward feels sympathy for Rashford, who hasn't had the same quality of players supporting him at Old Trafford that Berbatov once did.

United are just about clinging on to fifth place in the Premier League and hope to return to the UEFA Champions League, with Rashford arguably their most important attacking figure with that goal in mind.

Paul Hirst of The Times acknowledged Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side would be a lot worse off this season were it not for a few select performers, one of whom being Rashford:

The England international has scored a career-best 17 times in 29 appearances across all competitions this season. Rashford has made 152 total appearances for United across the past three seasons, though the summer departures of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez—both to Inter Milan—helped his case for more game time.

The youngster's progress has been evident since his initial break into the senior squad, and Statman Dave recounted his improving form in front of goal:

Berbatov scored 56 goals in 149 appearances for the Red Devils, also clinching one Carabao Cup and helping United to become world champions for the second time.

Rashford has spent much of his United career moving around to help others fit in the team, but Berbatov has called on the talisman to be more direct if the club is to succeed.