Mentality the key for Chelsea battle, says Rashford

Marcus Rashford says Manchester United must replicate the mentality they showed against Liverpool when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.

United claimed a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Anfield on Monday, nullifying the threat of Liverpool’s in-form forwards – though the defensive mindset of Jose Mourinho’s side has drawn some criticism.

And England striker Rashford believes United must show the same desire and grit when Mourinho faces his former club on Sunday.

“If we can go there, produce a good team performance and hopefully get the three points, that will give us a good boost and could set us up for the rest of the season,” the 18-year-old told MUTV.

“You never know how the game is going to be until you get out there but I think it’s important we get into the game and start fast.

“That’s what we did against Liverpool – we got into their faces and showed we weren’t going to be pushed around, and we need to go there with a similar attitude. The bigger the games are, the better for us.

“We have to try to keep them quiet and give ourselves the freedom to play as well, but it’s a difficult thing to do, especially away from home, so we have to have the same mentality and mindset as we did at Anfield.

“In these games, it’s a lot to do with one-v-ones and, if you get the better of your opponent, maybe you get the better of the game.”

United sit seventh heading into Sunday’s clash, two points behind Chelsea, and Rashford added that Antonio Conte has inherited a similar situation at Chelsea as Mourinho did at Old Trafford.

“They’ve been a bit up and down but the manager has got them in a good shape and structure, and I think they’ve got a good plan of where they want to be,” he added.

“They’ve got a very strong squad, I think they’re in a similar situation as us.”