Erik ten Hag described Marcus Rashford's goal as a 'huge' boost to the club after Manchester United's win at Southampton. Rashford, who was yet to score this season ahead of the game at St Mary's, found the bottom corner from outside the area to get off the mark.
The strike came after Matthijs de Ligt had headed the visitors into the lead, which came just minutes after Andre Onana saved Cameron Archer's penalty.
Alejandro Garnacho then sealed the win by blasting home a third goal in injury time.
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But it was the under-fire Rashford who Ten Hag focused on after the match, and has now backed the 26-year-old to push on from here. "It was very important (the goal), we spoke about it before the game," he said.
"It was so huge for him. For every striker, when the season starts they want to be on the scoring list. Now he has his first I'm sure that he will score many more."
The Red Devils kicked off having taken just three points from their opening three games, leading to speculation the Dutchman was again fighting for his future. However, he shut down suggestions that morale in the squad had been affected by the poor start.
"The mood is very good," he insisted. "We know our expectations are very high and we have to deal with it. We will see in May where we are and how it's gone."
The victory was soured with centre-back Lisandro Martinez limping off late on. De Ligt was also replaced in the closing stages, although later confirmed he was suffering from minor cramp.
Ten Hag blamed the current schedule for putting strain on his players, before admitting it was still too early to know the damage done by the Argentine. "We had international break so early in the season," he said.
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"Such a short pre-season too, with some players coming from inter-continental flights. And then you have a 12.30pm game so you can struggle. Hopefully it's nothing serious (Martinez) but we will have to assess it and see."
The Dutchman also refuted suggestions his team had come through a 'must-win' clash. "Every game you must win," he said. "So the question is the same every week."
