Marcus Rashford has called on Manchester United to draw inspiration from last year's stunning Champions League comeback in Paris as they look to pull off a similar revival against Manchester City.
United were outplayed in a 3-1 defeat to their bitter rivals in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Old Trafford on Tuesday, leaving them with a mountain to climb at City in three weeks' time.
There are parallels with the situation Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side found themselves in last March, when they headed to face Paris Saint-Germain in a last-16 tie after losing 2-0 on home soil.
On that night in the French capital, Rashford's last-gasp penalty secured a 3-1 win and sealed progress on away goals.
And Rashford, who wore the captain's armband and scored against Pep Guardiola's City, wants United to rediscover that magic when they travel to the Etihad Stadium.
Bittersweet to lead out my boyhood team for the first time but lose the game.
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) January 7, 2020
Still in the tie and we’ll give it all we’ve got at The Etihad. Thanks for the support. pic.twitter.com/oMm4zKg9rr
"It is a different game with different players, but what we found in Paris we have to find that within us again," he told the club's official website.
"We have to go there, score goals and win the game. I think we are capable of doing it. But let's just focus on [Saturday's Premier League game against] Norwich for now and hopefully we can put this result behind us to bring the positivity back."
Rashford was proud to lead his team out for the first time and is closing on a landmark 200th United appearance, with only one more needed to get there, but the England forward is only concerned with results.
"It is obviously a nice feeling [to be captain], but at the end of the day it is the result that matters and we didn't manage to get the win," Rashford said.
"We will look ahead now to the next game, put this one behind us and go again.
"To be honest, the games have all come thick and fast. You don't notice the numbers going up so much.
"It is my 200th game and obviously it is going to be a good night for me. It is definitely a proud moment to play 200 games for this club.
"But if we don't get the three points then for me it doesn't mean a thing. We have to make sure that we win the game and put on a positive performance."
