Marcus Rashford & Alejandro Garnacho combine for ginormous 64-point haul in Gameweek 4

MANCHESTER UNITED well and truly came to the party in Gameweek 4.

The Red Devils beat Southampton 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday and followed that result with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Barnsley in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday night.

Naturally, ten unanswered goals in the space of four days resulted in a HUGE influx of Dream Team points.

3

The main beneficiaries were Marcus Rashford (£3.8m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£3.6m), who combined for a whopping 64 points across the two fixtures with 32 each.

The former scored his side’s second goal at St Mary’s Stadium at the weekend for an 11-point return then added 21 more to his total via a brace and assist against League One opposition in midweek.

Rashford might have bagged himself a hat-trick had he not let Antony (£3m) take a penalty – the ex-Ajax winger was in desperate need of a goal.

Garnacho didn’t start against Saints but came off the bench in the 73rd minute to add the cherry atop the visitors’ performance with a sweet stoppage-time strike, pocketing eight points in the process.

3

The Argentine winger was selected in the starting line-up against Barnsley and showed why many fans have been calling for him to play more minutes in the league.

The 20-year-old scored twice and assisted both of Rashford’s goals to bank 24 points.

No fewer than eleven Man United assets registered double figures in Gameweek 4 with Christian Eriksen (£2.5m), Diogo Dalot (£4.1m) and Matthijs de Ligt (£2.9m) also cashing in with significant returns.

But Rashford and Garnacho were undoubtedly the star performers; even the irrepressible Erling Haaland (£9.1m) may struggle to make 32 points this Gameweek – Manchester City’s No9 will need to take 14 off Inter in the Champions League this evening.

Suddenly, Erik ten Hag’s troops look rather appealing.

In Gameweek 5, Man United travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday before hosting FC Twente in the Europa League the following Wednesday – they are one of ten teams with two fixtures to fulfil.

Looking further ahead, they are also among the select group of seven teams with two fixtures (vs Spurs and Porto) in Gameweek 6.

At the time of writing, only three midfielders – Eberechi Eze (£4.7m), Dwight McNeil (£3.5m) and Bukayo Saka (£6.4m) – are above Garnacho in the rankings but he averages just 35 minutes per league game so far this campaign.

As a comparison, Rashford averages a shade under 80 minutes per league fixture.

3

The long-serving 26-year-old looked bereft of confidence in August but three goals in a week can make a world of difference.

At the very least, he’s a decent short-term punt given Man United have four fixtures across the next two Gameweeks when half the top flight teams will play just twice in the same frame.

Additionally, many Old Trafford assets will experience a hefty price rise after the Gameweek 5 deadline has passed so short-term selections could be flipped for a tidy profit.

---