The two Rossoneri goals compared. The declining English with Amorim is always borderline for the discipline, the growing Portuguese
The parable is very similar. Imagine a roller coaster that starts upwards and then, more or less suddenly, nosedives downwards. Because while on the one hand, Rashford has always been considered the one who would drag United and the national team for the next fifteen years, Trincao went from being bought for 30 million by Barcelona to being tossed around on loan between Wolverhampton and Sporting Lisbon. Milan could be, for both of them, a springboard for relaunching and an opportunity for redemption. Let’s see them in comparison.
who scores more
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The Rossoneri’s objective, however, is clear. Give Conceicao a winger capable of scoring goals. First of all, a clarification must be made: English and Portuguese have different careers and histories. Rashford has been a cornerstone of United for ten years, playing thirty games a season and there are years in which he even reached 20 goals. Twenty-two in 2019-20, twenty-one the following season and even thirty in 2022-23 with Ten Hag on the bench. Francisco Trincao, on the other hand, whether for the role or for continuity, has always scored less. Nine rings in his best season with Braga, 30 in the last three years with Sporting. The numbers are growing, but he is certainly not a goalscorer.
how they play
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Position on the pitch also makes the difference. By looking at heat maps and scores you can get a more precise idea. Rashford with United, over the years, has ranged across the entire attacking front: winger on the left, right, attacking midfielder, central striker or second striker. Of course it depended on the cases and modules. With Ten Hag he mainly played as a centre-forward, with the exception of last season, while with Solskjær he was used several times on the wing or in the attacking midfield and almost never in front (just 20%). On the other hand, Trincao is a pure winger. At Sporting in the last three years he has always played either high up on the right or on the left in a 4-3-3. In the national team, however, he is mainly used on the left: he is Leao’s natural reserve and in the last two outings the change has been precisely that. Rafa out, Francisco in. The case of the Wolves is curious. After an initial part of the season in which Bruno Lage always used him on the wing, from January onwards he tried him a couple of times as a central midfielder or midfielder. Not exactly his.
difficulty
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In some ways, you could say that Amorim’s impact changed the tide. At United, with Rashford, the feeling never developed and in January the Englishman was put on the market by choice of the Portuguese coach. On the other hand, with Trincao, it was Amorim’s hand that revitalized the winger in the last three years in Lisbon. Opposite situations, linked by a possible common destiny. Over the years, Rashford had often been questioned for disciplinary reasons, accused of leading a non-athletic life, but he had always made up for it with goals and talent. Seeing is believing: Ten Hag management. Things went differently with Amorim, who even sent him to the stands in the derby with City in mid-December. A clear and unmistakable signal. Now it will be up to him to prove if he is still the Rashford capable of scoring more than a hundred goals for United.
margins for growth
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Room for growth – Rashford was born in 1997, Trincao is two years younger. They are not two emerging kids, but they both have the opportunity to grow and have their say. The main point will certainly be continuity. Rashford is missing – he hasn’t played in the Premier League for a month – and this year he has only signed up four times. Among other things, three goals came from Amorim, the last just ten days before the big exclusion in the derby. While Trincao has played practically all of them so far, scoring 6 goals and providing 9 assists. Gyökeres, for now, thanks.
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