Why this feels like the end of the road for Marcus Rashford at Man United, writes CHRIS WHEELER

It could have been Marcus Rashford stealing in to win a late penalty at the Etihad. It could have been Rashford racing onto Lisandro Martinez’s pass in the 90th-minute to score a dramatic winner for Manchester United.

But Rashford wasn’t even in the stadium when Amad Diallo led United’s sensational late comeback to win the 195th Manchester derby.

He was sat at home in Cheshire contemplating the latest wrong turn in a career that now feels in danger of falling seriously short of expectations.

The bitter irony is that days like this should be made for Rashford: the boy from Wythenshawe who turned down City to join United and become a hometown hero.

And there have been days like this. The day in January 2023 when he scored a late winner to complete another 2-1 comeback win for United amid delirious scenes at Old Trafford; or December 2019 when United won by the same scoreline at the Etihad and he scored another of his six career goals against City; or that fabulous crossfield pass at Wembley in May that led to United’s second goal as they shocked City in the FA Cup final.

When Pep Guardiola’s side were left beaten and dazed yesterday (sun), however, Rashford was nowhere to be seen.

Ruben Amorim insisted that the decision to axe him and Alejandro Garnacho from the squad wasn’t for disciplinary reasons, but it certainly felt that way as United’s new head coach reeled off his concerns.

‘Next week, next game, new life,’ said Amorim, offering a quick route to redemption. ‘They are fighting for their places but for me it’s important: the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates, the way you push your teammates.

‘It’s the small details, but there are some things that have to change.’

It came at the end of a week of fresh speculation over Rashford’s future at United amid concerns over his lifestyle. It’s almost two years since he scored 30 goals in Erik ten Hag’s first season to earn a £315,000-a-week contract and become the club’s second-highest earner behind Casemiro.

Just 15 more goals have followed since. He is no longer an automatic choice for the England squad. At the age of 27, he is no longer a boy either. We shouldn’t be talking about potential anymore. Or body language or lifestyle.

Erik ten Hag tried to keep Rashford on the straight and narrow, disciplining the player after he was criticised for going out to Chinawhite to celebrate his 26th birthday hours after United had lost 3-0 to City at Old Trafford in October last year, and again after a 12-hour tequila bender in Belfast led to him missing training in January.

Having warned when he first arrived last month that Rashford’s progress was down to him alone, Amorim has wasted no time stamping down on issues that have clearly concerned him.

‘I want to improve my players and you understand that for so long we tried, for example, with Rash. It does not work,’ he added. ‘Let’s continue to do the same thing or try something different? So it’s as simple as that.’

An even simpler thing might be to just sell Rashford and be done with him, as former United skipper Roy Keane suggested on Sunday.

‘It doesn’t look good for him,’ Keane told Sky Sports. ‘I think a move for Marcus would suit the player. He hasn’t been great recently. He (Amorim) has obviously seen something he doesn’t like.’

However, getting rid of Rashford isn’t as simple as it sounds. A player on his salary isn’t easy to shift, and which of Europe’s top clubs would sign him on current form? It’s understood that the £100million price tag on his head two years ago has now halved.

And what of Garnacho? We are told that the decision to drop him for Sunday’s game was not linked to rumours suggesting he and his close circle have been responsible for leaking team news, so we have to assume Amorim has seen something else he doesn’t like there either.

Ten Hag had to do a fair bit of disciplining to put Garnacho In his place too. ‘He’s put a marker down to these players,’ is how Keane sees Amorim’s decision.

Then there’s Amad, the cheerful little Ivorian who looks like he genuinely loves the game he is getting paid to play. The polar opposite to a sulking Rashford or a scowling Garnacho who had to be cajoled by captain Bruno Fernandes into celebrating a goal against Leicester last month because he was upset at how some fans were treating him.

Diallo is a player reborn under Amorim, whether it’s adapting to right wing-back or a more advanced position in the coach’s 3-4-3 formation. The 22-year-old was United’s most potent threat long before he drew a penalty from Matheus Nunes and then tucked in the winner from a difficult angle.

‘When he’s like this, he’s unstoppable,’ said Fernandes before giving his teammate the man-of-the-match award and a big hug. ‘I’m pretty sure he can do this every week. He’s now getting his chances because he’s working hard.’

A devout Muslim who had to be shielded from the champagne spray when United celebrated winning the FA Cup against City last season, at least Diallo won’t get carried away by his heroics here. That’s one player Amorim doesn’t have to worry about.