Manchester United are hindering the development of Marcus Rashford, says Micah Richards

Rashford scored United’s only goal in a 3-1 defeat by City on Tuesday night

Micah Richards believes Manchester United are hindering striker Marcus Rashford’s development by playing too safe in midfield.

Rashford scored his 17^th goal of the season in United’s 3-1 home defeat by Manchester City on Tuesday night.

But former Sky Blues defender Richards says Rashford would be more productive playing under Pep Guardiola.

He said: “I feel a bit sorry for Rashford because if he was in City’s team he would get 40 goals a season. Obviously on the counter with (Anthony) Martial, (Daniel) James, (Jesse) Lingard they look good.

“Sometimes the counter-attack is not on. Look at their (City’s) midfield compared to United’s, that is no disrespect but (Kevin) De Bruyne’s first option is a forward pass.

“When I see United play it is always a little too safe, it is “I don’t want to make a mistake today”. Look at City’s midfielders, their first option is to play forward.”

United’s Carabao Cup hopes were kept alive by Rashford after Manchester City embarrassed their hosts with a dominant display at Old Trafford which threatened to end Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Wembley dreams in the first leg of their semi-final.

Man City were 3-0 up with 20 minutes to go thanks to goals from Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and an own goal from Andreas Pereira.

But one lapse from the Sky Blues allowed Rashford to score, making it 3-1 and giving United a slim chance in three weeks’ time, having won at the Etihad barely a month ago in the league.