Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford beginning to understand what Jose Mourinho wants

Rashford returned to United's starting line-up in the best possible fashion on Saturday

Marcus Rashford takes instructions from Jose Mourinho during the win over Liverpool (Getty)

Marcus Rashford believes he is beginning to understand what Jose Mourinho wants from him following his sensational return to the Manchester United line-up.

Rashford crowned his first league start of the year with a match-winning brace against Liverpool on Saturday, scoring twice in the opening half hour of a 2-1 home win.

The 20-year-old has spent recent weeks and months on the fringes at Old Trafford, having initially seen new signing Alexis Sanchez take his place on United’s left flank.

With Sanchez deployed centrally, Rashford returned to the left on Saturday and starred in a victory that boosted United’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Two years on from his breakthrough into the first team under Louis van Gaal, Rashford admits that he is still developing and perfecting his craft, though he believes

“Right now I'm probably not learning the most on the pitch. In training is where I'm doing most of my learning,” he said.

“There's lots of things. It is just the all-round game is starting to become more clear. Things this manager wants is becoming more clear to me. The more you do that the easier the results come on the pitch.”

When asked whether Mourinho had spoken to him about his recent lack of minutes, Rashford said: “He doesn't have to. In football you are going to be up, you're going to be down. The most important thing is sticking together as a squad.

“Everyone turns up every day for training, we all work hard, we all do the necessary things. We are all in it together. Sometimes you are in the team, sometimes you are not in the team.”

Rashford also suggested that he is now stronger given his struggles for regular playing time over the last few months.

“For the future it is something you have been through before,” he said. “If it happens again you will probably deal with it better than the first time it happened to you. It is just another experience.”